An Emergency Change of Command
by pari106
Summary: LAST CHAPTER! (for real this time...that last update had a typo :p
1. Default Chapter

An Emergency Change of Command  
by pari106  
  
pari106@hotmail.com  
http://www.geocities.com/pari106/damain.html  
  
Code: M/Z; Rating: PG-13; Disclaimer: Dark Angel and everything related belong to Cameron, Eglee, and   
FOX.  
  
Summary: AU post-AJBAC. If certain circumstances of the raid on Manticore had been different, would   
Max have gotten her dream ending? (Well, most of it, anyhow ;)  
  
A/N: Title is still under consideration (I so suck at titles). If you have any suggestions let me know. And,   
please, feedback lots!  
  
  
An Emergency Change of Command  
by pari106  
  
  
  
"This is stupid."  
  
Zack stood in the phone booth, shifting from one foot to the other, hand poised over the receiver. Zane had   
to smile at his uncharacteristic ambivalence.  
  
Then Zack turned and walked away, hands in the air.  
  
"This is crazy!"  
  
Zane's smile disappeared.  
  
"Uh, uh, uh. No way, big brother," he said.  
  
He used those superfast reflexes of theirs to intercept Zack, mid-retreat, catching him by the arm. Zack   
gave him a glare that, coming from Zack, would have put the fear of God into a lesser man.  
  
But this was Zane, after all. Zack's brother. And, to Zack's way of thinking, just one x or y short of a   
Manticore cocktail, anyhow.  
  
Zane smiled.  
  
"No one gave the order to abort, soldier. So get back there and complete the objective."  
  
Zack glowered.  
  
"Ha," he drolled. "Look, Zane, this power trip of yours was real amusing for all of five seconds. But now   
you'd better back off."  
  
Some bystanders servicing their cars at the nearby gas station were watching them with concern, but Zane   
just gave them a reassuring smile. Then he turned back to his brother with a raised brow, feigning   
indignance.  
  
"Wow. Somebody's grumpy when they don't get their triptophan in the morning," he said.  
  
Zack kind of huffed and started to walk away again. But Zane was right there in face once more.  
  
"Hey, come on. This isn't just some power trip and you know it." He met Zack glare for glare, really   
starting to get angry himself now. "I'm trying to help you, man. So stop being so…well, you, and, for   
once, just do what you're told."  
  
Silence followed. And then Zack smiled. He actually smiled. And raised a brow, crossing his arms.  
  
"Ain't much fun being CO for you pack of losers, is it?"  
  
"Temporary CO," Zane reminded him. "Just until you get your shit together."  
  
Then Zack's smile disappeared. His eyes wondered off into the distance over Zane's shoulder.  
  
Admittedly, he felt a little sheepish about the whole thing. He knew his brother was just trying to help.   
But the situation was just too absurd.  
  
Still…  
  
He didn't mean to seem ungrateful. Besides, what did he have to lose by humoring his bro's crazy scheme?  
  
Zack huffed again.   
  
'Plenty.'  
  
Just because Manticore seemed to be out for the count, that didn't mean that any of them were off the hook.   
Not yet. It was way too soon after the raid to be changing protocol.  
  
Still…  
  
Zack eyed the phone booth behind him like a hunter eyes its prey.  
  
"I don't know if this is such a good idea," he said.  
  
Zane slapped him on the back.  
  
"Trust me," he said, slowly walking Zack back to the booth. "I trust you to handle all the contact number,   
escape and evade stuff, right? 'Cause you're good at it – the whole business of making war."  
  
Then Zane reached over and picked up the receiver.  
  
"Well this, bro," he told Zack with a grin, "This is the business of making love. It's a whole different   
battlefield." Zane threw Zack a look and wagged his eyebrows. "One on which I happen to have a hell of   
a lot of log time.  
  
Zack just rolled his eyes.  
  
"Yeah, only because you aim at any…hey, Ow!"  
  
Zack frowned, raising one hand and rubbing at the sore place that had just developed on his head. Zane   
frowned, too, replacing the phone receiver, his current weapon of choice, back in its place.  
  
"Meanie."  
  
"Alright, alright…"  
  
Zack looked from his brother, to the phone…back to his brother, and sighed.  
  
"What do I say?"  
  
Zane chuckled. "You, bro, say nothing at all. Because I'm doing all the talking." He shook his head.   
"You need more help than I thought," he said. Then he picked up the receiver once more, only to have   
Zack put his hand over the hook.  
  
"What? You can't do that."  
  
"Why?"  
  
Zack gave his fellow X5 a long-suffering look. "Because everyone expects a call from me," he explained,   
carefully. "If you pick up, they'll think something's wrong."  
  
"Damn right, something's wrong," Zane said, shooing Zack's hand away. "Big brother, the heartless   
wonder, is in love. If that doesn't constitute an emergency change of command, I don't know what does."  
  
Zane dialed the first number.  
  
Zack shook his head. He was so, so going to regret letting his brother talk him into this.  
  
"Try to be quiet over there," Zane ordered, putting his hand over the mouthpiece. "Oh, and try to look a   
little more cheerful. If nothing else, revel in the thought that you'll have everybody worrying over your   
sorry ass for the next day and a half it takes them to get here.  
  
You've always wanted vengeance on our disobedient, ungrateful hides, right? Well, here's your shot.   
Enjoy it."  
  
Zane turned back to the phone, and Zack thought about what he'd said.  
  
He'd never thought about it that way. Maybe his brother had a point.  
  
Let them worry about him for a change. And with that happy thought, Zack's mood improved   
considerably.  
  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

Max headed home from work that day, smiling as she made her way to Foggle Towers.  
  
It had been a good day.  
  
Most of her days were pretty good now since the raid that took down Manticore.  
  
Well, pretty good, considering.  
  
Original Cindy and the gang down at Jam Pony were all their same, lovable selves. Kendra and her kinky   
cop were engaged (shudder).  
  
Max had picked up some chicken from the market, so she looked forward to an excellent meal with Logan.  
  
The day was good. Life was good.  
  
Living with Logan was good.  
  
Original Cindy had something pretty heavy going down with her latest lickety boo. No problem, but it   
could get awful crowded around their shitty, little apartment when one of Original's sugars started crashing   
on a regular basis.  
  
Before the raid, Max never would have contemplated kicking it at Logan's while she, Original, and lickety   
boo worked out their living arrangements. But the raid had changed things between them. They'd come to   
an understanding – she'd come to an understanding – that made shacking up with Mr. Eyes Only a   
workable arrangement, without all of the built-up tension that had been there between them before.  
  
Before the raid, Max admitted, there had been plenty of attraction behind that tension. There probably still   
could be. But afterwards, Max had called the whole thing off. Eventually, Logan had come to realize what   
she had the day Manticore went down – that the only reason they had really wanted to be together was that   
they – and everybody else around them – thought that they should be together. The truth was, however,   
that they were just friends. Best friends, nothing more.  
  
Granted, Logan hadn't taken Max's little epiphany too well. At least, not until he'd had one of his own.   
But he came around sooner or later.  
  
'More sooner than later,' Max thought with a smirk. There was no malice behind the thought, however.   
Now that they'd defined that indefinable something between them as friendship, Max didn't mind the idea   
of Logan kicking it with somebody else. At least, she didn't mind it much.  
  
Especially if that somebody else happened to be her own flesh and blood.  
  
Max had seen the way Logan looked at Syl when she'd introduced the two.  
  
"What?" Logan had asked, incredulous, the first time she'd brought it up. Then he kind of laughed that   
way he always did when he didn't want to admit something to himself. Max had just smiled, knowingly.   
"I don't even know your sister," he'd told her. "We met for all of what? Two days?"  
  
Two very impressive days, apparently. Because she couldn't help but notice how Logan's eyes sparkled   
anytime she mentioned Syl. Who, by the way, had been spending an awful lot of time hanging around   
Seattle lately. Though she was always careful not to spend it near Foggle Towers.  
  
Curiouser and curiouser.  
  
Max continued to smile when she reached Logan's building.  
  
'Our building,' she mentally corrected herself.  
  
She'd come to think of it that way. She'd only meant to spend a couple of days with him.  
  
Now it had been a week.  
  
And she was getting spoiled to having a hot bath and silk sheets at her ready disposal. Not to mention not   
having to wait for an invitation to partake in one of Logan's culinary treats. He cooked breakfast and   
dinner, and even prepared her lunch, which he sent with her to work every day. She was sure she'd gained   
ten pounds in just that week and she'd loved every moment of it.  
  
If it were alright with Logan, she might never leave.  
  
Then Max's smile dimmed just a little.  
  
In all truth, there really wasn't any reason why she shouldn't just stay with Logan. It wasn't like she had a   
man, a boyfriend or something, who'd object to the arrangement. Not anymore. It wasn't like she had…  
  
Max shook away the thought, and its accompanying melancholy. 'Don't even go there, girl,' she thought.  
  
The she boarded the elevator up to Logan's place.  
  
"Our place," she mumbled to herself.  
  
A lot of other good had come for the raid, as well, she reminded herself. She'd gotten to see much more of   
her brothers and sisters since then.  
  
After all, Syl *was* around an awful lot. And Krit stopped by now and again. Though he'd gone back to   
wherever he'd come from before that thing with Lydecker went down. She'd even gotten calls from Zane   
and Jondy, though she hadn't gotten to see them yet.  
  
And Brin…  
  
Max smiled once more, albeit sadly.  
  
The main prize of the raid had been winning back Brin, who'd helped them in torching Manticore's lab,   
and had escaped at last.  
  
The only problem that remained with her, was getting her to let go of the guilt she harbored over Tinga's   
death. No one blamed Brin for what she'd done, for what Manticore had made her do, while she was under   
their control, but Brin wasn't so easy to convince of this. Jus a week after the raid, she'd disappeared. And   
Max hadn't heard from her since, though she assumed she kept in touch with Zack.  
  
Brin's emotional scars were the one blight on their perfect victory over Manticore.  
  
Well, almost the only one. Then there was Zack…  
  
When Max stepped off on Logan's floor, she held none of the good humor of only moments before.  
  
Zack had left, too.  
  
He'd stayed only long enough after the raid to heal from the gunshot wounds he'd suffered during, and then   
he'd left. He always left. And he'd spent most of the time in between God knows where. He certainly   
hadn't spent his time with Max.  
  
Max hadn't heard from him since, either.  
  
After all that had happened, with the raid, and with her and her revelations…after all she'd learned about   
herself, and about Zack, and about how she felt about him…  
  
After all that, he just left and didn't look back. He'd taken a bullet during the raid that had been meant for   
Max's heart, but had hit him in the shoulder, and, yet, afterwards, he just left.  
  
And she'd never had the chance to tell him that she loved him.  
  
Or that she was sorry it took her so damned long to admit her feelings, to both of them. That she was   
grateful for all he'd ever done for her, but that if he ever scared her like that again, getting himself shot or   
captured, for any reason, that she'd break his damned heroic neck…  
  
She'd never gotten a chance to tell him any of it. Sure, there had been that time in the woods outside of   
Manticore. That horrific time spent waiting for the others to arrive, cradling Zack's head in her lap, as the   
blood gushed out of the gaping wound in his shoulder. The wound that had been meant for her. Max   
vaguely remembered that time, remembered her tears and her desperate grip as she held him. Remembered   
talking to him, though she wasn't sure about what. But she knew she'd rambled on, more than once, about   
loving him. "I love you. Zack, I love you, do you hear me? Don't you dare go and die on me soldier!   
Don't you dare!" But Zack had been unconscious by then, and he hadn't heard her.  
  
And, apparently, he didn't want to.  
  
Because he hadn't left her a contact number.   
  
All this time and he still hadn't left her a contact number. He still didn't trust her.  
  
Even after getting himself shot for her. After that time, at Logan's cabin, sipping wine and swapping   
stories, and staring into one another's eyes, sitting in front of the fire…  
  
Max shook her head, swallowing the knot she felt form in her throat every time thoughts of Zack came to   
torment her.  
  
'That was then, this is now, Max,' she harshly reminded herself.  
  
She'd had her chance with Zack. She'd had more than enough time to figure out her feelings for him. To   
figure out that she loved him. More than life itself, she loved him. More than freedom.  
  
Yet, she'd let him sacrifice his own freedom for her. He'd almost given his life for her. And she'd never   
given him anything in return. Nothing but some tear-felt 'I love you' that he wouldn't even remember.  
  
She hadn't figured anything out until it was too late.  
  
She'd had her chance, and she'd let it pass.  
  
Now he was probably loathe to even look at her.  
  
And Max had to choke down her despair over that, along with the sob rising in her throat, as she anguished   
in her newfound love her him.   
  
Zack was everything she'd ever wanted, could ever dream. But she'd let her insecurities about him and   
what they meant, should mean, to one another stand in the way of seeing that. He was strong, smart, brave,   
loyal. So damned giving. Sexy and tough, but with an underlying vulnerability that endeared Max to him.   
He had a face and a body to turn women's heads everywhere he went, but the focus of vision not to even   
notice. He smelled like leather, and man, and some spicy cologne Max couldn't identify. He knew her like   
no one else ever would.  
  
And she could have had his love. She should have had his love.  
  
But she'd blown it, totally.  
  
Now she was living with her best friend – the friend she'd left Zack for. And she loved Logan, she really   
did.  
  
But as she slipped into their penthouse, with thoughts of Zack on her mind, and unrequited love in her   
heart, Max knew that that wasn't enough.  
  
And she knew those silk sheets wouldn't feel nearly as good tonight, as she slept between them. Alone.  
  
  
  
**** ****  
  



	3. Chapter 3

That night, Max poked and picked at her food, hardly involving herself in the one-sided conversation   
Logan tried time and time again to make two-sided.  
  
She was thinking about him.  
  
Logan could tell when he looked at her – she was thinking about Zack. Something was the matter, and   
whenever something was the matter with Max, it was generally thoughts of Zack.  
  
Logan knew it, he just didn't know what to do about it. He'd asked Max before if there was anything he   
could do, but he knew that there wasn't. So he stopped asking.  
  
And after dinner, he retreated to his computer, as he usually did, leaving Max to fall asleep in front of the tv   
set, watching some old movie or another.  
  
Hours into the night, he finally leaned back from his PC, rubbing his eyes beneath his glasses, and sighing.   
He glanced at the doorway to the living room for a moment before making a decision, and turning off his   
system, he rose to join Max on the couch.  
  
Logan had made a lot of improvements to Phil's exoskeleton over the months since he'd received it. There   
were hardly any more kinks in its performance, and Logan could wear it whenever he wanted, though he   
usually went about his daily routine in the chair. He didn't want those acquaintances who knew him as   
Logan Cale, mere cyberjournalist and rich kid, to wonder about his miraculous re-recovery. He also didn't   
want his already atrophying muscles to grow too used to the support. He still had high hopes of one day   
regaining the use of his legs.  
  
He was wearing the exoskeleton tonight, however. And he walked over to the couch, sitting down on the   
end next to where Max's head was lying on a pillow.  
  
He stared down at her sleeping form, her lovely face, and the dark hair fanned out about her, and an   
intimate softness stole into his features. He hated to see her so sad.  
  
Max didn't even need to sleep, but she did so more and more often lately. And she looked less and less at   
peace each time she did. She didn't need to sleep, but once she actually was sleeping, she slept like a real   
bear, so Logan gave into the urge and reached over, brushing a strand of hair away from her cheek, letting   
his fingers linger over the soft skin there.  
  
Logan sighed.  
  
It wasn't that Max would object to the gesture if she were awake – they were comfortable around one   
another now in a way Logan had never been with a woman who wasn't his lover. Not even with his wife.   
He just didn't want Max to see the look on his face when he touched her.  
  
The look that expressed his regret.  
  
Sure, he'd come to terms with Max's decision to call things off between them. Actually, in the time since   
then, he'd even come to agree with her. What they had together really wasn't what Max could have had   
with Zack; it wasn't what Logan still hoped to one day have with someone else.  
  
But he'd wanted so badly to have it with Max. He loved her, and she loved him – they were even   
comfortable enough to say it to one another. Now, anyhow. Ironic. They worked well together, they were   
best friends – hell, they even lived well together. It was perfect.  
  
They should be able to love one another the way they wanted to. Why couldn't they love one another like   
that? Why couldn't he love Max like that? Was their something wrong with him? He'd mentioned as   
much to Max before, but she'd just laughed, not realizing he was serious. But he really thought something   
must be wrong.  
  
Had he somehow lost the capacity to love that way? Or had he never had it to begin with? He'd thought   
he'd loved Valerie, but when the marriage had ended so had that delusion. He'd thought he'd loved Max –   
and really, how could you not fall in love with Max? Maybe he really was like his Uncle Jonas, with all of   
his affairs and conquests on the side. Maybe the capacity to love just didn't come with the whole socialist   
elite environment into which Logan had been born.  
  
But that couldn't be true, could it? After all, his parents had loved one another. Hadn't they?  
  
Or maybe it was just his dedication to Eyes Only that kept him for feeling the way other people felt.   
Maybe his dedication to the cause, his own little mission to save the world, took up so much of his passion,   
that there wasn't any left for a woman in his life.  
  
Then Logan had to smile. 'Yeah, right.'  
  
He could be accused of a lot of things, but lacking passion was not one of them. He'd had a lot of   
relationships in his time – many more than Max, which had actually made him feel a little badly when he'd   
been pursuing Max as more than a friend. He was so much older than her, so much more experienced.   
Jaded, really. What right did he have trying to corrupt her youth with his warped view of the world?  
  
Only hers had seemed even more tainted.   
  
Either way, whatever disillusionment they had or had not been suffering under during the time they'd had   
together before the raid, a lack of passion was not one of them. They'd never actually consummated that   
passion, but it had been there all the same.  
  
Maybe that was why letting go of the dream that was a love affair with Max was so difficult.  
  
They had passion, they had companionship, and they had love. Who's to say that wasn't enough? Who's   
to say their brand of love was so lacking? What more could they hope for, really? They'd put their   
relationship in the permanent friend category, but what if that had been a mistake? Logan was still young,   
only 32, but he wasn't getting younger. And his line of work was not conducive to growing old.  
  
What if Max had been his only hope for a future and he'd let that hope pass without a fight?  
  
Logan thought all of this as he sat there by Max, caressing her cheek, and playing with her hair. But,   
finally, he let his exhaustion replace the frustration his thoughts had roused. He scooted closer to her,   
slouching where he sat, and setting his glasses aside on a table. In her sleep, Max instinctually moved   
closer, letting her pillow fall to the floor, and cuddling up in his lap.  
  
With his eyes closed, Logan smiled, resting his head against the cushions of the couch. He continued   
stroking Max's hair as he began to doze off, his hand eventually beginning to still, with his fingers still   
entwined in soft, ebony locks.  
  
He had just barely begun to dream, when the sound of someone clearing his throat brought Logan awake.  
  
Logan opened his eyes, only to see Max's brother, Krit, standing over him. A decidedly unpleasant scowl   
upon his face.  
  
"Sorry to drop in unannounced," he said, not sounding the least bit apologetic. His dark eyes shifted to   
where Max's head lay in Logan's lap and back again, narrowing just a bit in the process. "You shouldn't   
leave the window open if you don't want visitors."  
  
Then he stalked out of the room.  
  
Logan just sighed.   
  
The X5s did so have a one-track mind.  
  
  
  
**** ****  
  
  



	4. Chapter 4

  
Logan's eyelids still felt heavy, but he figured he could hardly afford to sleep with an angry X5 in the   
house. An angry X5 who obviously didn't like seeing him cozied up with his sister.  
  
Logan and Krit hadn't had the chance to talk a lot since the raid on Manticore, when they'd met, but they   
talked some. And Logan liked the quiet, cynical young man. They were on pretty friendly terms, he   
supposed. In fact, they got along rather well. They even hung out, on occasion, when Krit was in town, but   
his sister was otherwise engaged with Original Cindy, or Syl.  
  
But their friendship stopped at Logan's involvement with Max.  
  
Krit never said as much, would evade the question if it was posed, but he was decidedly unkeen on the   
perimeters of Max's companionship with Logan. He eyed the intimacy between the two like Logan   
supposed he eyed an enemy in battle. And Logan wasn't sure, but he would put good money on the reason   
being a man named Zack.  
  
Logan didn't mind. He had nothing against Zack, really, though he and the younger man often clashed   
when they were together. The truth was, if Max thought she'd be happy with Zack, then Logan wanted her   
to be happy. He didn't consider himself an obstacle to the other man any longer. But Zack hadn't been   
around, and even though Logan had actually looked for him, for Max's sake, he hadn't come up with   
anything.   
  
And he might have accepted losing his chance with Max, but he wasn't about to let her go altogether. They   
were friends, and Zack or no Zack, he'd be damned if that would change. Krit would just have to deal with   
it.  
  
In the meantime, however, Logan figured it would be best not to push the guy. So he gently tried to wake   
Max up.  
  
"Max…"  
  
He shifted his legs a little, an awkward movement for him, even with the exoskeleton, and rubbed her   
shoulder.  
  
Slowly, she began to stir, opening her eyes just a bit.  
  
"What? Logan…"  
  
Max smiled up at him, then she saw something just over Logan's shoulder. At first, he thought it was Krit,   
but Max's quick, exuberant exclamation told him otherwise.  
  
"Syl!"  
  
Max bounded over the couch, and pulled her sister into a hug, before Logan had even gotten on his feet.  
  
Standing there in the room, was Max's sister, all long blonde-hair, and delicate features, and big blue eyes.   
Syl was the complete antithesis to Max, but she was every bit as lovely. Beauty seemed to be a prerequisite   
for being an X5 – male or female.  
  
"Hey, baby sis," she greeted Max, with a warm smile. That smile wasn't quite so warm when she directed   
it at Logan, however.  
  
"Hey, Logan," she said quietly.  
  
And Logan felt a chill at the icy tone in her voice. Funny that it actually made the room feel a little   
warmer, as well.  
  
"Syl," he said back, wondering if what he saw flash through her eyes when he said her name was disgust or   
just plain indignance. He didn't like either.  
  
Meanwhile, Max was oblivious to all of this.  
  
"What are you doing here at this hour?" she teased, bringing Syl's gaze back to her, and bringing the good   
humor back into Syl's expression. Or at least a little of it.  
  
'Something's wrong.'  
  
He didn't know how he knew, but Logan had been around the X5s long enough now that he could gauge   
just a few of their expressions. And Syl's said that all was not right in the world of liberated transgenics.  
  
"Krit's in the kitchen," Syl said instead of answering. And Max was too happy to see her sibs to pick up   
the clue Logan just had.  
  
"Really?" Max shot Logan a look and headed for the kitchen. "Hope you don't mind some company," she   
threw over her shoulder.  
  
"Not at all," he replied.  
  
But then his eyes found Syl's. She was staring at Max's retreating form, and then when she turned to   
him…  
  
Were those tears in her eyes?  
  
Logan's stomach just suddenly dropped.  
  
'No…'  
  
"We won't be staying long," Syl was telling him. Her voice was just as quiet and emotionless as it always   
seemed to be around him as of late. But Logan barely heard her.  
  
There was only one reason Syl would be looking at her sister that way – all concern and sorrow and barely   
contained empathy…  
  
And tears?  
  
All Logan could think was, 'Zack.'  
  
  
  
**** ****  
  
  
  



	5. Chapter 5

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Logan asked again, for what had to be the dozenth time in the last hour.   
They were standing outside their building, and Syl and Krit were getting their bikes ready. Max was   
standing by her own, and not looking at all as siked as she usually was at the chance to ride with her   
siblings.  
  
"Yeah, sure," she told him, not convincing him one bit. "Zane said it's nothing. Just one of those   
precautions, you know? Get everybody together, see how things are hangin' with the X5 crew."  
  
Logan nodded, but his expression was grim. 'Precautions, my ass,' he thought. The X5s never gathered   
together in one area at one time – Zack considered such to be an intolerable risk. But, then, therein lay the   
real mystery of this whole affair. Zack. It had been *Zane* who'd said this meeting was just a precaution.   
Zane had called Syl and Krit. Not Zack. It was always Zack who contacted the X5s, but this time he   
hadn't. And Zane had been suspiciously tight-lipped about why. That alone had been enough to cause the   
tension Logan saw in Krit's posture, and the tears he'd glimpsed in Syl's eyes.   
  
And the dazed fear he could sense building inside of Max.  
  
Logan followed Max around her bike as she checked oil and made sure her pack was strapped down tightly   
enough, operating on autopilot alone. The exoskeleton gave him a bit of a swagger that Max usually teased   
him as adding to his sex appeal, but she wasn't in the mood for teasing now.  
  
Logan resisted the urge to sigh, hating that this whole situation had arose. Damn Zack for making Max   
love him, and then not being there to let her love him. Damn him for being so goddamned heroic all of the   
time and getting himself in trouble, as Logan was sure to be the case now. Damn him for making Max   
care.  
  
Hell. Damn him for making Logan care.  
  
"Alright, but just in case? I can have somebody scoping the place within the hour. Just to make sure   
there's no trouble."  
  
Max didn't answer, but she didn't have to.  
  
"She said it's fine," Syl suddenly told him, rolling up on her bike. "Besides, Zane didn't tell us where   
we're meeting exactly. We're supposed to call at the first checkpoint."  
  
Logan frowned. He didn't like this. Damn, but he didn't like this at all.  
  
But Max's hand on his cheek brought him back from his worries. Her eyes were still anguished, but they   
held understanding and appreciation, as well. She even managed a slight smile.  
  
"Thanks, anyway, 'k?" she said.  
  
Logan touched his hand to hers, where it lay on his cheek until she let it fall away. He couldn't help but   
feel like he was letting her ride off into danger, and that feeling ate at him.  
  
Max planted a soft, chaste kiss on his lips and hopped on her bike.  
  
"It's just a little X5 reunion. I've been teasing Za…I've been saying for years that we oughtta have one.   
I'll be back in a few days," she reassured him, not very reassuringly. "Love ya," she added with a little   
wave.  
  
"Love you," Logan mumbled.  
  
Then she revved up and blazed off, just as Krit was pulling out, as well.  
  
As he turned to watch her leave, Logan noticed, with surprise, that Syl hadn't yet pulled out, as well.  
  
She was looking at him, her face was hidden beneath her helmet, but she was turned towards him. Then,   
when she noticed him looking, she turned, gunning her engine loudly and taking off like the hounds of hell   
were on her heels.  
  
Logan sighed.  
  
'Apparently Krit's not the only X5 who has their issues with me.'  
  
Logan frowned, heading back into the building. Consciously trying to ignore the fact that that thought   
bothered him a lot worse than it should have.  
  
  



	6. Chapter 6

Zane had specified this little gas station just outside of Washington as their checkpoint, so that's where   
Krit, Syl, and Max headed. The sun was up by the time they arrived. It took them several hours to get   
there, and it would have taken them more, but they'd driven full speed the whole time.  
  
Krit had to admit – they hadn't driven nearly fast enough for his tastes.  
  
His mind was full of all sorts of dark thoughts. What had happened? Why was Zane contacting the X5s?   
What the fuck could possibly be important enough to risk gathering all the X5s together into one place?   
Zack would never have consented to such a thing, would he?  
  
That's what really scared Krit. It actually scared him.  
  
Zack would never have authorized something like this. So where was he?  
  
Krit wondered if he even wanted to know. If something…bad had happened, could he handle it? It had   
been hard enough losing Ben and Tinga, almost losing Brin. What would he do if they lost Zack? Their   
big brother? The guy who'd led their escape from Manticore in the first place, the guy who was always   
there when they needed him. Always ready to command, with just a single look or a gesture, always   
pulling that macho tough guy act of his, pissing people off. While in the meantime, flashing that subtle   
sense of humor of his, making you wonder if you heard him right. Krit idolized his brother – he'd admit it.   
He loved him. What would he do if they lost Zack?  
  
What would he do with Max?  
  
She looked ready to cry, and Krit didn't need to see that shit, especially not when he was so close to   
cracking up himself. He loved his sister just like he loved his brother. Hell, he loved all of them. He   
didn't want to see her in pain, and she was definitely there.  
  
Krit didn't know what the deal was between her and Logan. He knew they didn't have that kind of   
relationship, though he wasn't so sure he liked what they did have, despite his admiration for the guy. But   
he knew Max loved Zack. He'd been there, in the woods after the raid, and he'd heard what Max had said.   
He'd seen how she'd freaked out when Zack had been shot. And everybody knew Zack had always loved   
Max. He didn't know if he knew that she loved him back, or if he did why he hadn't acted on it yet, but   
Krit knew that the love was there, for both of them. He'd had a hard time grasping the concept at first – his   
big brother wanting to get it on with their baby sister. But he'd gotten over the shock, and he supported the   
idea now. Hell, he didn't know why he hadn't realized it sooner.  
  
What would it do to Max if Zack was gone? Gone. Krit couldn't even comprehend it. Zack, gone? It was   
unthinkable. What would it do to all of them?  
  
The second they reached the gas station, Krit was off his bike and at the nearest phone booth, not even   
waiting for the others to pull up beside him before he bolted.  
  
Meanwhile, Syl and Max brought their bikes to a stop beside his and just sat there. Waiting. No use in   
their crowding around the phone, when just one of them could make the call. Even if they were both   
itching to do just that.  
  
Or maybe they were afraid of what they'd hear if they did join in on the call. Maybe that's what kept them   
parked on their bikes.  
  
Either way, they just sat there. Waiting. In silence.  
  
Or at least, they were silent for a little while. Then the inactivity started to grate on Syl's already   
overstressed nerves.  
  
"So…how've you been?" she asked.  
  
"What?"  
  
Max looked up, as if coming out of a trance.  
  
"I said…"  
  
"Oh. Oh, yeah. Fine. Just fine."  
  
Silence.  
  
"How're you and Logan?" Syl asked. She was nonchalantly averting her gaze from Max's, seemingly   
fascinated with polishing her bike handle with her glove. Max wasn't paying attention anyhow.  
  
"Fine."  
  
"You were crashing at his place, huh? Didn't mean to, you know, disturb you," Syl prattled on.  
  
Then she cringed, wanting to cuss at herself. 'Jesus, could you sound any more idiotic, Syl?' she chastised   
herself. But she also told herself that she was just trying to make small talk to keep her mind off of this   
thing with Zack – and that was half true. She was about to go out of her mind with worry. She'd seen him   
for such a short time during the raid. All she'd wanted to do since then, was just to pull him into the   
biggest bear hug he'd ever received. But she hadn't done so when she'd had the chance, and he hadn't   
been around since then. Now she refused to believe that she wouldn't get that chance again.   
  
Max shrugged, feigning casualness that might have flown if she didn't look like she was about to start   
bawling.  
  
"No prob. We were just chillin'."  
  
"Do that a lot, huh?"  
  
Another shrug. "Yeah, well, I've been staying there the last week," Max told Syl, not noticing the other   
woman's reaction to the news. She'd completely forgotten that she hadn't told Syl about Original and her   
new boo. "The living arrangement at me and Original Cindy's wasn't working out," she continued. "You   
know how it is? You got three people shacking up in the same place, and two of 'em are getting it on, hot   
and heavy. Nobody likes to be the third wheel."  
  
'Oh, God…'  
  
Syl's hand tightened on one of the handlebars of her bike.   
  
"Uh, yeah," she said quietly, just to respond.  
  
She felt like shit.  
  
Then their brother was walking over with a quick step.  
  
"We're going to a cabin about a few hours from here," he told them, hoping on a Ninja identical to his   
sisters'.  
  
"Lead the way," Max said, with a lot more certainty than she'd had in her voice ever since Krit had told her   
Zane had called him.  
  
Syl just nodded.  
  
Then the three gunned their engines and took off.  
  
  
  
  



	7. Chapter 7

While Syl, Krit, and Max, headed for the cabin, Zane sat inside, watching an uncharacteristically nervous   
Zack glance again and again out the window.  
  
Zane sighed, shaking his head.  
  
He wondered if he'd been wrong, all these years, listening to Zack chastise him on his weakness for the   
ladies, wishing love and commitment and all that on his big brother. Zack had never fallen in love before.   
But when he fell, damned but he fell hard.  
  
It was almost painful to watch.  
  
Even Zane's amusement over the situation, which was considerable, had started to wane.  
  
Zack was nervous. And just being in the same cabin as him was starting to make Zane nervous, as well.  
  
"Jeez, Zack. Chill out, already, before you sprain something," he muttered, pulling another doggy treat out   
of the bag sitting beside the recliner in which he was slouched.  
  
He and Zack were the perfect example of how two different people could be raised in the exact same   
environment, and still turn out to be terribly, terribly different. Zack was clean cut and clean shaved, and   
he was only wearing a pair of jeans with tennis shoes, a read pullover, and his ever-present leather jacket,   
but he wore them with bearing. His posture was stern, even when he was supposed to be relaxing. Which   
was now. He was blonde and blue-eyed, just like Zane, and they both had similar builds, but that was   
where the similarities ended.  
  
Zack's blue eyes were cool, calculating. Mysterious. Zane's blue eyes seemed to laugh all the time. And   
he smiled just as often. Zack was aloof, while Zane was downright boisterous, by comparison to his X5   
siblings. He wore his hair spiked, and it was usually in his eyes all the time, but he never bothered to get it   
cut shorter than it already was. He wore a little goatee, and one of his ears were peirced. He'd gotten his   
ear peirced. Zack had nearly shit a brick when he heard. What kind of soldier gets their ear peirced?  
  
But then, Zane wasn't much for the soldier mentallity. He could kick ass with the best of them. In fact, it   
was a part of his genetic make-up. He was part wolf, he'd heard – which was probably why he got along so   
grandly with the pet he always kept by his side. And he'd been trained to be the explosives expert in their   
group, a lifetime ago back at Manticore. Zane's tennis shoes always looked a day past their wear-out date,   
and he didn't own a single pair of jeans that weren't frayed and/or ripped out at the knees. He had this   
favorite blue sweater one of his girls had told him really set off his eyes, and he wore it religiously.   
  
He was the antithesis to Zack.  
  
Which, again, was probably why they got along so grandly. Zack told him what to do, in that unbearably   
arrogant, I'm-the-CO attitude of his, and Zane dealt with it. Then Zane did the absolute opposite of what   
he'd been told, in that annoyingly carefree attitude of his, and Zack dealt with it. They were a match made   
in Manticore. And they loved each other, anyhow.  
  
Zack didn't respond, so Zane just shrugged, holding the treat in his hand out to the german shephard lying   
nearby, in front of the fireplace. The dog perked his head up, panting happily.  
  
Zane made a little kissy noise he just knew would drive Zack nuts, and called out to his favorite pet.  
  
"Come here, Fluffy! Come on, fella! Good boy!"  
  
From his stance in front of the window, Zack shook his head, finally sinking into a chair with a sigh.  
  
"I cannot believe you named your dog that."  
  
Zane shrugged, grinning as "Fluffy" licked happily at his fingers.  
  
"He doesn't seem to mind. Do you, Fluffy?"  
  
He fed the german shephard another treat, his smile growing wistful as he did. Yeah, it was an odd name   
for such a large, some would say "scary looking" animal. But Zane was fascinated by those kind of   
contradictions. By the thought that one's personal nature could overcome one's natural inclinations. That   
a dog that had been born to be large and scary looking could carry the name "Fluffy". That he, who had   
been born to kill, to destroy, That he, X5, serial number 332680074205, could be more than just a killer or   
a number.   
  
But Zane didn't mention this to Zack. He figured, somewhere somehow, his brother already knew. So   
Zane just went on feeding his dog. And Zack just went on teasing him about it.  
  
"You are a sick man, brother," Zack said, looking to the animal who, he could admit it, hadn't placed very   
highly on his list when they'd first met. "And you call yourself an animal lover."  
  
"You should resent him, you know that don't you?" he asked Fluffy, who just stared back at him that way   
he always did.  
  
Zane had to smirk at the comical scene presented by his oh-so-logical brother Zack, sitting there talking to   
his dog. So he threw a doggy treat in Zack's lap, having to force himself not to laugh at the look that   
passed the man's face when Fluffy went to retrieve it.  
  
Not that Zane considered talking to dogs as particularly funny. He talked to Fluffy all the time. Anyone   
else would think it was crazy, but he really believed they could communicate to one another. Had to be all   
those wolf genes.  
  
Meanwhile, Zane contemplated the current situation with something quite close to glee. Everything was   
working out exactly how he'd planned it. They'd contacted Jondy and had her pick up Brin – they'd sent   
her a week ago, so she'd have plenty of time, not only to locate their troubled sister, but also to swing down   
by Mexico and see if she could pick up Jace and her baby, as an extra added treat for the X5s meeting here   
today. Krit, Syl, and not to mention Max, were on their way.  
  
It was all going according to plan. And Zane, being Zane, was overcome by the sudden urge to laugh   
maniacally and rub his hands together.   
  
This temporary CO business wasn't turning out to be half bad.  
  
Of course, it was all just in jest. But the fact that Zack would agree to play around with him, at all, was, in   
and of itself, a pretty big miracle. Either that, or Zack was really worse off than Zane had thought.  
  
Zane looked at his brother, who was staring out the window again.  
  
Okay, so that wasn't an "or" question. The fact that Zack had agreed to let him call the X5s together for a   
reunion was a pretty big miracle. *And* Zack was really worse off than Zane had thought.  
  
When he'd shown up here, months before, Zane had known something was wrong. Zack never stayed   
around for longer than a couple of days. And even then, he was very clear about why he was there, and   
when he'd been leaving. But this time he'd been different. This time he'd showed up and hadn't said   
anything about leaving again. In fact, he'd evaded the question whenever Zane had presented it. He'd   
played with Fluffy – he'd actually played with Zane's pet.  
  
It had been enough to have Zane fearing for his brother's life.  
  
And he hadn't once asked Zane what he was doing this close to Washington.  
  
That was what really worried him. After their cover had been blown, back when Zane was in LA, he was   
supposed to have headed out to Austin. No problem. He'd developed quite a fondness for those Texan   
girls that time three years ago when he'd been stationed in Fort Worth. But he'd heard that Max was living   
in Seattle, Washington. Max, who seemed to have disappeared off of the face of the planet was living in   
Washington.  
  
Zane couldn't resist. He just had to come up here, even if he wouldn't actually be travelling all the way   
into Seattle. At least, not yet. Even if it were only so that he could comfort himself with the thought that   
they were living in the same time zone.   
  
It had been a foolish thing to do, by Zack's usual standards of operation, but Zane couldn't resist. And   
when Zack had showed up, he'd felt sure his brother would raise holy hell over it.  
  
But he hadn't. He hadn't even mentioned it.  
  
And it had taken three weeks for Zane to find out why.  
  
Then, one night during that third week, Zane had come back from this local bar he stopped by every few   
days or so, just to torment the fine looking waitresses that worked there, to find the truck Zack had driven   
over to his place turned over in a ditch. The lights were still on and the wheels were still turning.  
  
Zane had felt his heart leap into his thought when he'd seen it.  
  
His first thought was Manticore. No, wait, Manticore was gone, right? But old habits die hard, and Zane   
was sure his brother had been captured. Or that they were still there, Lydecker and his soldiers, filing out   
through the woods, looking for him. Waiting for Zane, so they could capture him, too.  
  
But Lydecker had defected, too, hadn't he?  
  
Zane had been too keyed up to think straight. He'd just run out into the woods, calling Zack's name.  
  
He'd found him crumpled beneath a tree, not really injured from the wreck any further than a cut on his   
head, but held in the grip of seizures worse than Zane had ever seen before.  
  
Zane had never had as many problems with seizures as some of his brothers and sisters did. But then, as far   
as he knew, neither did Zack. So he always kept a small vial of triptophan in his pocket. And, at that   
moment, he thanked God, or the Blue Lady, or whoever, that he did.  
  
That had been probably the scariest moment of his adult life. He hadn't had too many brushes with   
Manticore after the escape; he'd been lucky. Zack always managed to get the call through to him before   
troops were ever sent in when his cover was blown, and Zack never spoke in great detail about what   
happened with him or the other X5s that didn't pertain to Zane directly.  
  
Until that moment.  
  
Then, as the seizures slowly left him, Zack talked. He talked more than Zane had ever heard him talk   
before. And he was simultaneously thrilled to have his brother open up to him, and horrified by what Zack   
told him. He didn't want to hear it. But at the same time he did.  
  
Zack told him everything. Everything about his life since the escape. Maybe he was afraid he was dying   
and wanted to get it off his chest – Zane didn't know. But he told him about Max and how he loved her,   
about giving himself in to Manticore.  
  
Zane had always said they should leave their past in the past. He harbored no love for their former keepers,   
but nor did he hate every single doctor or soldier that worked there, just because some of them had made   
his childhood a living hell. But as he listened to Zack talk, his hatred grew. In that moment, he would hav   
gladly taken on a whole unit of Manticore's best. He wouldn't have cared. He would have mowed them   
down like they weren't even living beings to be considered or respected. In that moment, he was   
everything Manticore had made him to be. A killer, if only in his mind.  
  
Because the things Zack told him made him want to kill.  
  
Even now, looking back on it, Zane felt a thickness in his throat as he remembered the conversation. How   
Zack had told him, in that peculiarily toneless voice he'd used, about the torture he'd endured, the drugs   
they'd given him and the games they'd played with his mind. They'd buried him alive. They'd fucking   
buried him alive.  
  
Those goddamned bastards buried his fucking brother alive.  
  
But there had been no soldiers present in those woods to kill. No one to take out all his newfound hatred   
upon.  
  
And in the absence of that, Zane had felt like crying.  
  
It wasn't the first time in his life. Unlike Zack, he didn't see any weakness in human emotion. He revelled   
in it. But he didn't want to do so in front of his brother, who'd gone through all that he had and could talk   
about it like this. And he wasn't crying, was he?  
  
Oh, shit. He was.  
  
Zack had cried.  
  
Lying there in those woods, in the dark, as Zane sat nearby, helpless, Zack had talked and he had cried.  
  
And Zane had cried with him.  
  
It was one of those moments that strengthened the bond between two brothers even stronger than it had   
been before. And it was one of those moments you never spoke about again.  
  
So they'd never mentioned it.  
  
But two weeks later, Zane had come up with this crazy scheme. And, amazingly enough, Zack had   
decided, several days later, to go along with it.  
  
Now Zane sat there, watching his brother watching the horizon for the woman that he loved. Watching the   
horizon for Max, while all of the pieces of his brother's plan fell into place. Zane watched him, and he   
silently repeated the vow he had made to himself that night in the woods. The vow he had secretly made to   
Zack.  
  
'You're going to get the happiness you deserve, brother,' Zane thought to himself, more serious than he'd   
ever been about anything else in his life. 'If I have to bring all the X5s to Washington…hell, if I have to   
pick up Washington and bring it to them, you're gonna be happy. I swear it.'  
  
Then he started to watch the horizon, as well.  
  
  
  
**** ****  



	8. Chapter 8

It was dark. Darker than Zack remembered.  
  
And in some small part of his dormant consciousness, Zack realized this was a dream. But that didn't   
matter.  
  
He relived those moments in the woods behind Manticore as if he were right there, all over again.  
  
Search lights flickered over head. Logan's voice was speaking in his ear through the transmitters they were   
all wearing. The trees and bushes were thick with the possibility of enemy attackers.  
  
He could hear Max's sure steps as she ran behind him, keeping up to the mad pace he'd set without even   
breathing hard.  
  
Then she stopped.  
  
And Zack turned, and saw what she'd seen. He saw her. Nine years old all over again, standing there in   
the darkness in her battle fatigues, gun at the ready. Of course, it wasn't really her. It was one of those   
suped up X7s Manticore had cloned using their DNA.  
  
But she looked enough like Max to fool Zack, for just a moment. She looked enough like her counterpart   
to fool Max for just a moment more.  
  
One moment too long.  
  
Zack knew what was about to happen the second he saw her standing there. It was like Fate. He'd always   
feared that if he and the X5s were brought back to Manticore that this would happen. That Fate would   
catch up to them. Their lives had begun here. It only stood to reason that they would end here, as well. So   
he'd avoided Gillette, Wyoming like the plague. But he hadn't been able to avoid it this time.  
  
And now Fate was standing in the shadows holding an automatic weapon. And pointing it straight at Max.  
  
"Max, no!" Zack screamed, even before he saw the X7's weapon tilt up, just a bit, the way it did right   
before it fired. He was screaming for her even before he'd seen her own weapon tilt down, just a bit, as the   
shock of being confronted by herself overcame her battle instincts and her aim faltered.  
  
Zack did the only thing he could do. Firing wouldn't help. Yeah, he'd take down the X7, but by then she   
would already have taken down Max. Her gun was aimed straight at Max's heart.  
  
So Zack jumped in front of the gun.  
  
He didn't really think about it. He didn't have to. What was there to think about? He'd never thought   
twice about the sacrifices he made for his siblings. And this wasn't just his sibling – this was Max. This   
was the love of his life. He'd spent his entire life loving her, and struggling to escape that love, and then   
struggling to win her love in return, only to be rejected for Logan. He didn't have to think about it, he just   
did it. Because if he didn't Max would die. And what the fuck did he have to live for then?  
  
But this time, it didn't work.  
  
In reallity, Zack knew what really happened. He jumped in front of the gun, the gun fired, and he got shot.   
Simple. His act of heroism left him bleeding on the floor of the grassy woods while Max battled off their   
attacker, rushing to his side just as his vision began to blur.  
  
But in his dreams, in his nightmares, something changed.  
  
He jumped in front of the gun, just as before, but no bullet found him. Instead, it sailed right through his   
body, as though he were no more than a spector in its path. And it found its mark in Max.  
  
"Maxie!"  
  
Zack screamed her name, and no matter what he did, he couldn't keep the bullets from finding her again   
and again. Their attacker fired repeatedly, and Zack stood there, untouched, as Max cried out in pain   
behind him.  
  
"Max!"  
  
Zack turned just in time to see Max fall to the ground, covered in blood. Her beautiful face was pale and   
drawn. The attacking X7 faded into the darkness beyond as Zack fell to his knees beside Max, staring   
down at the gaping wounds covering her smaller body, his bloodied hands lying helpless at his sides.  
  
Then he pulled her into his arms, his gaze locking with her wide, terror-filled eyes. He was crying. He   
couldn't help it – he was crying.  
  
"Max! Max…"  
  
'Jesus. Oh, Jesus, no. No, not Max…'  
  
"Zack…"  
  
A thin trail of blood ran from the corner of Max's mouth and down her chin. Her purpled lips were parted   
as she gasped for breath, and Zack wiped desperately at the goo that covered her, trying to clear it from her   
eyes and nostrils. The tubes that had been slowly draining the life from her were still attached to their   
ports, and now Zack tore at them madly, trying to free her from her glass prison.   
  
But, for all his strength, the tubes wouldn't detach. They wouldn't…  
  
But, wait. Wasn't that…  
  
"Tinga?" Zack whispered the name, as ghostly images of his beloved sister filled his vision. Images of   
long, straight, ebony hair, and a small boy asking for a bed-time story…  
  
"Zack!"  
  
Zack looked down, and Max was there.  
  
"Maxie…"  
  
"Why did you do this to me, Zack?"  
  
"What? Max, no. Please…"  
  
Max glared up at him, hatred shining in her eyes, as Zack continued to cry.  
  
"Maxie, please…"  
  
She was beginning to shake in his arms, but the disgust in her gaze didn't waver. And he was losing her.   
The more he tightened her grip, the faster she was slipping away. There was just so much…  
  
But then there wasn't. There wasn't any blood. No blood on her, or him, or on the pristine metal floor on   
which she lay…deep in the heart of one of Manticore's labs.  
  
She wasn't bleeding, she was just lying there in an awkward heap, both her legs brocken, her neck crushed   
beneath his merciless grip…  
  
Zack screamed and jumped backwards, crashing into the instrument tray behind him.  
  
"Why did you let this happen?"  
  
Images and memories flashed through Zack's brain. From childhood. From Manticore. From Seattle and   
from that cabin of Logan's, sitting there in a quiet wood by a picturesque lake…  
  
Flash.  
  
Max smiling. Firelight and wine and a plan to get over the Canadian border…  
  
Flash.  
  
Max dying. May glaring at him, hurt, betrayed, angry, scared.  
  
"Max. Max, no. I love you…"  
  
Flash. Lydecker suddenly appeared.  
  
"Pull yourself together, soldier! Get off…" Every angry, barking command he'd ever given wrang out all   
at once, fading together into one, big cacophony about duty and discipline and objectives.  
  
Flash.  
  
"Why, Zack?"  
  
"Tinga…"  
  
Flash.  
  
Suddenly Max was gone. The room was gone. The lights dimmed and there were stone walls all around   
him, covered in shadows; ghoulish apparitions shaped like ravens. And as far as the eye could see, there   
lay corpses. Bloodied, bar-coded, toothless corpses lying all around Zack.  
  
And in the far corner of the darkness, a single figure crouched into itself as two razor-teethed X2s slowly   
approached. The figure screamed, and screamed, in absolute terror, calling Zack's name again and again.  
  
"Zack! Zack!"  
  
"Ben! I'm sorry!…I'm so sorry…"  
  
Then Zack woke up.  
  
  
  
  
Zack sat very still in his chair by the window, where he'd fallen asleep. He didn't move. He just   
concentrated on breathing. On slowing his heart. On opening his eyes and reassuring himself of where he   
was and where he wasn't.  
  
That accomplished, he shot out of his chair as if it were on fire, and headed out of the cabin as fast as he   
could without running.  
  
He vaguely acknowleged Zane's voice in the background, asking where he was going, but he didn't   
respond to it.  
  
He just kept walking until he was out of cabin. And then until he was into the woods nearby. And then   
until he was standing next to the lake just within it.  
  
  
Then he just stood there, staring at the water. For an hour. Reminding himself that he was here to put an   
end to the nightmares, not to relive them.  
  
Hoping that he wouldn't just make them worse by allowing his brothers and sisters to come here.  
  
Images of Max, suffering because of his carelessness, of Ben and of Tinga, who had met that same fate   
already, came unbidden to his mind.  
  
Zack shook his head to clear the haunting visions. Then he stripped out of his clothes and dove into the ice   
cold water of the lake.  
  
He didn't emerge for three hours more.  
  
  
  
  



	9. Chapter 9

An Emergency Change of Command, part 2  
by pari106  
  
pari106@hotmail.com  
http://www.geocities.com/pari106/damain.html  
  
Disclaimer: See part 1; Code: M/Z, Logan/Syl; Zane, Krit, All; Rating: PG-13  
  
  
  
An Emergency Change of Command, part 2  
by pari106  
  
  
  
It was getting later in the day by the time Max, Syl, and Krit came upon the turnoff to which Zane had   
directed them. Abruptly, pavement gave way to gravel, and trees rose up around them. They slowed their   
speed to compensate for the change in terrain, not minding so much anymore, really, now that they were so   
close to the destination.  
  
And yet not close enough.  
  
During the entire trip from Sector 9 to here, Max had been able to hold her anxiety over the situation at bay.   
It was pretty easy since the top of her Ninja was not the ideal location for chitchat. She and Krit and Syl   
had ridden in verbal silence. And they'd ridden fast, which helped.  
  
But, little by little, Max was cracking just the same. Her palms were sweaty inside her riding gloves, and   
she felt like her heart was going to beat its way right out of her chest.  
  
She'd tried, just for the sake of her sanity, not to speculate too often during the ride. When Krit and Syl   
had told her that Zane called and had asked them to meet him, they'd also told her not to overreact. "If   
something happened to Zack, Zane would have just said so," Krit had said. But Max didn't think so. Zane   
wouldn't have been able to just blurt out something like that over the phone. Zack had had to contact the   
X5s several times before with such news. To tell them that Brin had been captured, to tell them that Ben   
was dead, to tell them that Tinga was gone… And he'd done so with the calm efficiency of a good soldier,   
but Max hadn't bought that bullshit act one bit. She knew it had hurt him to be the bearer of bad news.   
Especially over the phone, which seemed a little impersonal, didn't it, considering that the news was so   
tragic to them all? Max didn't think Zane would treat that pain as indifferently as Zack had.  
  
Still, she'd tried not to speculate. Though, even as he cautioned her about doing the same, Max could see it   
there in Krit's eyes – the speculation. The concern. Even fear?  
  
What she'd seen in her brothers eyes had begun to eat at Max. She'd seen the exact same look being   
directed at her from Syl. No doubt the same emotions were shining in her own, dark gaze – only more so.  
  
Because if something had happened to Zack, she wouldn't just be losing a brother. She'd be…  
  
Jesus. What would she do?  
  
All this time since the raid, Max had lamented over losing Zack's love. And, sure, there was still some fear   
there for his welfare. She'd feared for his welfare all her life. She supposed everyone worried about their   
loved ones, and loving Zack was ten times more intense than that, since he was constantly doing things that   
made her worry. But once Manticore had gone down, Max supposed she'd begun to worry a little less.   
She'd begun to concentrate on other concerns a little more.  
  
She'd never really imagined losing him for good.  
  
She'd thought about it ever since they were children; since before she knew she loved him, or even knew   
where he was following the escape. But she'd never really, really imagined it happening. She couldn't   
grasp the concept. Especially not now that she'd gotten to know him again. That she'd gotten to love him.  
  
It was all like a bad dream. A nightmare come true.  
  
And if Max didn't wake up by the time they reached that cabin she didn't know what she'd do.  
  
Zack had to be okay. He just had to.  
  
By this time tomorrow, Max wanted to be lamenting her unrequited love once more. Because, as painful as   
it was not having Zack by her side, the thought of not having Zack, period, tore Max in two.  
  
  
  
Neither Max, nor Syl, nor Krit realized they'd been holding their breaths until they pulled up in front of   
Zane's cabin. Then they were there, and suddenly they could breath again.  
  
Apparently, they were the first ones there, because there was only one vehicle parked outside – Zane's,   
Max imagined, as it sported some silly bumper sticker degrading cat owners.  
  
Despite the situation, Max nearly smirked.  
  
What was so wrong about cats? She'd have to have a little talk with her brother.  
  
Then Max realized what the others began to realize as well. There was only one truck, so they were the   
first ones to arrive. It was just them and Zane. Not Zack.  
  
Then Zane walked out onto the porch, his german shepherd following behind. It was just Zane. Not Zack.  
  
And Max had dreamed of the day when she'd be able to see her quirky brother again. This reunion had   
been 10 years in the making.  
  
But when she was finally standing there, face to face with Zane, like she'd wanted so badly, for so long,   
Max's elation at reuniting with her brother was eclipsed by her mounting panic.  
  
He did not look happy. He looked worried, too. Worried about them.  
  
And Max stopped, right where she stood. She looked from Zane, to his truck, to the cabin, and back to   
Zane, with that look he was giving her.  
  
'No…'  
  
Meanwhile, Zane noticed her expression; the expressions on all their faces. Damn it, what had he been   
thinking? Zack was right – he shouldn't have called. He should have known the X5s would get themselves   
all wound up. 'Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid.' And where was Zack, anyways? His absence wasn't   
helping things.  
  
"Max, I'm sorry…"  
  
That's as far as he got. Then he realized Max was about to cry.  
  
She was about to cry!  
  
Zane felt like shit. He hadn't seen his baby sister in ten years, and when they finally do get together he   
makes her cry.  
  
He'd be a very miserable man for the rest of his life. Which would last exactly as long as it took Zack to   
return. Then he would promptly kill him.  
  
Max was shaking her head. Then she took off, running into the woods near the cabin.  
  
"Hey, Max! Max, wait, I…"  
  
She was out of earshot before he could say anything more. Zane sighed.  
  
Then he looked at Syl and Krit, who didn't look any happier than Max had. Zane kind of squeaked.  
  
This temporary CO business was turning out to be bad. Real bad.  
  
  
  
**** ****  
  
  
  
Zack didn't know how many times he circled that lake.  
  
He swam the length of it, again and again, at top speed, his strokes smooth and quick. The water parted   
before him with barely a sound, and his movements were no more than a blur to the average human eye.  
  
Water wasn't Zack's favorite medium.  
  
He knew Max didn't particularly care for it either, with all that extra feline DNA of hers. Meanwhile, their   
brother Krit, with his own specific brand of transgenic engineering, could just as well spend his whole life   
off shore. He loved the water that much. There was just something about the weightlessness of it, he said,   
that appealed to him as heights appealed to them all.  
  
Zack didn't know about that. But, sometimes, like now, he did enjoy a fast swim. Racing to beat his own   
time across the lake, over and over again; raising a challenge for himself and meeting it, then upping the   
ante. It satisfied his competitive nature.  
  
It also relaxed him, as much as he let himself relax. He swam, and as he did, the water smoothed the   
tension from his muscles, and the adrenaline rush of physical exertion smoothed the tormented thoughts   
from his brain.  
  
  
In the back of his mind, Zack supposed that, too, was just another part of his programming – the need for   
action. For challenge, and conflict, and conquest. Even if all her were conquering was a nameless, little   
lake on the edge of Washington. He was the CO, after all. It only made sense that he be instilled with a   
sense of craving for those things. That was what a good soldier was supposed to do – meet new challenges,   
win conflicts. Divide and conquer.   
  
Then Zack abruptly stopped. He just lingered there in the water for a moment, motionless.  
  
'Screw that.' Not everything was about programming. That was why they'd left Manticore in the first   
place – to be more than just their DNA. More than just soldiers; numbers in a long succession of barcodes.   
Krit liked to surf and Max called her bike her "baby". Syl was a real caffeine addict, and Zane couldn't   
iron a sock without burning down the house. That wasn't programming – that was who they were.  
  
And if Zack were a real asshole sometimes about being the best at everything…Zack smiled. Well, that   
was just him, too.  
  
Or at least he liked to think so. Now.  
  
Zack started back for the lakeside, moving at a slower pace now.  
  
As he did, he reflected on who and what he was.  
  
Yeah, he was the CO; he was a soldier. He always would be. You could take the man out of Manticore,   
but you couldn't take Manticore out of the man. But he was starting to realize that he was also so much   
more than that. They all were.  
  
He'd always known this. But he'd only recently begun to perceive this in a new way.  
  
He'd always valued those little things that made him and his siblings more than the killing machines they   
were meant to be. But he'd never seen the logic in indulging in those things. Wasn't it enough just to have   
them? Wasn't it enough of a miracle just to be able to feel things like friendship or homesickness? Things   
strictly forbidden back at Manticore. Wasn't that what it was all about? The freedom to feel?  
  
Just because they had the capacity for such feeling, that didn't mean they had to get themselves captured or   
killed pursuing the impossible dream of feeling normally. That's why Zack had never understood Max's   
determination to stay put in Seattle. With Jam Pony and Original. With Logan. What was the good of   
indulging in those little human traits they'd earned, if by doing so you just got yourself captured? Then   
you'd be worse off than before, because Manticore would brainwash you like they had almost done to Brin.   
And those human traits wouldn't even exist anymore.  
  
In Zack's mind, there had always been only two options: to deny himself his full humanity in order to   
protect it, or to indulge in it and lose himself as a consequence.  
  
But giving Manticore its fatal blow made Zack consider another option.  
  
Maybe Max was right. maybe it wasn't enough just to feel the capacity for real life. Maybe it was all   
about living that life.  
  
After all, Max had lived that way for a year now. And she had been the one, ultimately, who could be   
thanked for Manticore's demise. She had convinced the others to work with Lydecker; she'd convinced   
Brin to defect. Her humanity hadn't destroyed her. It had saved them all.  
  
'But things could have been different,' came that nagging little cynic in the back of Zack's mind.  
  
Zack shook off the thought as he shook the water from his hair, pulling himself up onto the small pier Zane   
had fashioned beside the lake. He stood there, letting the wind and the sun dry his skin.  
  
He remembered the nightmare he'd had earlier, but he didn't think of it now as he might once have. He   
knew where most of it came from: guilt. And he did feel guilt over losing Ben and Tinga. He felt guilt   
anytime any of his siblings were in danger. To an extent, he realized that he was being irrational, but he   
couldn't help it. He couldn't help but feel as though he'd failed, anytime something happened to one of his   
brothers or sisters. He felt guilty for minimizing what Tinga had had with Charlie and Case; for   
minimizing the relationships Zane had had in the past. He felt guilty that Manticore had gotten Brin, and   
then Tinga. He felt guilty that he hadn't been able to find Ben before Max or Lydecker did. That he hadn't   
been able to shield Max from what she'd had to do to save Ben from becoming just another X-series lab   
experiment. He'd always feel a little guilty.  
  
But there had been a time when Zack viewed his failure as he did everything else – as a soldier. His first   
thought, when he'd learned about the problem presented by Tinga's family hadn't been the reaction of an   
ordinary brother. He hadn't wondered how he could get his sister out of this mess – that came later. he'd   
wondered how he could have allowed her to get herself into this mess in the first place. As if her family   
were some sort of extracurricular activity that had become inconvenient. As if he were lord and master of   
his sister's every decision.  
  
And, in a way, he supposed that was how he saw himself. He was her commanding officer – therefore she   
answered to him. It had never occurred to Zack to think otherwise. He had called her sister, had loved her   
like a sister, but he'd treated her like a subordinate.  
  
Yet another item to add to Zack's list of regrets.  
  
Because now he thought differently.  
  
Now he wondered if he'd been wrong all this time and if Max had been right. He'd always believed that,   
though his programming wasn't the only part of him, it was the most important part to his survival. For all   
his failings, Ben had been right about one thing. He'd spooked the shit out of Zack sometimes, but he'd   
been right. There was a hunter inside of each of them. And denying that would be denying themselves.  
  
But couldn't the same be said for their humanity? Wouldn't denying their humanity be just as wrong? And   
that's what he'd done for a long time. He'd denied Tinga's right to a family – something no human should   
be unwillingly denied. He'd denied himself his own desire for the same, for years, by denying his capacity   
for love. He'd denied his own emotions, even while he knew, deep down, that he was in love with Max.   
Even when temptation overwhelmed discipline, as it had that once at Logan's cabin, causing him to lay   
aside his façade as the big brother, for just a moment, and reach out and touch her. To stare at her with   
naked longing in his eyes. With love.  
  
And he'd denied Max by refusing to even consider offering her that love on terms she could accept. He'd   
never once considered trying things her way. Home, friends, the whole packaged deal. He'd fought with   
her often enough about her not doing things his way; had even resented her for it at times. But he'd never   
considered an alternative.  
  
But he was considering it now.  
  
Because something had happened during that raid on Manticore. Something that altered Zack's entire way   
of seeing things. Something that frightened Zack so badly, with its power to inspire hope, that he'd fled   
Seattle and hadn't looked back.  
  
Until now that he'd allowed Zane to reunite the X5s.  
  
Something miraculous had happened during the raid: Max had told him that she loved him.  
  
And he'd been so sure he hadn't a shot in hell of ever hearing her say that he way he wanted her to say it.   
But there she was, holding him and crying, and saying those words just as he'd secretly dreamed them in a   
moment of weakness.   
  
Zack had always loved Max. Maybe even before he'd known what love was. Even when they were   
children, he'd known there was something different about the way he felt about her. But it had taken   
meeting her again, as adults, for Zack to realize what that difference was. And when he had, he hadn't   
wanted to believe it. He'd fought it. And then, when he couldn't fight it, he just plain ignored it. The first   
time he'd admitted that he loved Max, to himself, almost to her, had come during their brief stay at the   
cabin, when he'd believed he could finally get Max to submit to his routine. When he thought she'd be   
leaving with him, at last.  
  
But then she'd left him. And she'd gone straight back to Seattle, and to Logan. And though he hadn't   
dared entertain it before then, Zack had suddenly realized that he'd been harboring some small hope that   
perhaps Max might love him the way he loved her. Or that she might feel something, if not love, than at   
least something other than sisterly towards him.   
  
There was no one else who could understand her better than he did, just as there was probably no one else   
in the world who understood Zack better than Max. When she let them, he and Max could work together as   
the perfect team. Together, they could succeed at anything. He'd learned that back at Manticore during   
training exercises, and that hadn't changed since then.  
  
And they had chemistry. He didn't know if it was just him who was feeling it, or if Max was just afraid to   
feel it, but they had the most electric chemistry. And Zack was no more innocent than he expected Max to   
be, but he had never felt the sort of charge he felt when he was around her.  
  
And some small part of him had begun to hope that that could be enough. It would have been enough for   
him. Even after he'd admitted that he loved Max, Zack still wasn't certain he bought into the whole   
concept of "love" that many people believed in. He didn't really think "love conquers all" or any of that   
shit. He certainly hadn't pictured the pitter-patter of little feet and white picket fences in his head. But he   
had finally admitted that he loved her. And he thought that could be something good. He thought that if   
they had companionship and cooperation and chemistry…and his love for her, regardless of how she felt   
for him, provided that she felt something for him…what more did they need?  
  
Apparently Max had needed something. Because she left. And that small hope that Zack had secretly been   
harboring, secret even from himself, had died. He'd returned from Manticore some time later, with a few   
new scars, and few new nightmares. But the biggest scar he received came on the day he got back to   
Seattle. When Max had taken him back to Logan's place and he'd seen how the two looked at one another,   
when he'd seen how close the two had become. How much Max had sacrificed for Logan Cale. How   
much she must…love him.  
  
That had hurt Zack worse than anything Lydecker had done to him.  
  
Here he'd been suffering, for her. He'd done the one thing he thought he'd never do – he'd let Manticore   
take him, alive. For her. And she'd let him so that she could help Logan. She'd let him and then she'd   
spent all this time since here with him.  
  
Any hope that he'd had of them being together disappeared that day.  
  
But then the raid happened, and hope began to burn anew. Because even after all of that, after all that time,   
and after all the time she'd spent in Logan's arms…there she was, saying that it was Zack that she loved.  
  
At first, he hadn't believed it. He hadn't dared believe. Max was experiencing a moment of panic. Or   
maybe he was the one panicking. Surely she had to know how he felt about her. Maybe she was only   
trying to give him a moment's peace before death; maybe she was just telling him what he wanted to hear.  
  
He wasn't Logan. He wasn't rich or influential in normal society. He wasn't cultured, nor did he   
particularly desire to become cultured. He'd had no idea what the fuck Logan had been playing on the   
radio that day on the way to the cabin, until the other man had told them. He just didn't know those kinds   
of things. He knew strategy and defense. Things Max already knew all too well, and obviously no longer   
found of interest. He didn't smile easily, or laugh easily. If he was angry with her for something, he didn't   
just let her do her thing while he sulked. He punched a hole in the wall and then tried to kick her ass. That   
was him. And she loved him.   
  
Max loved *him*? She had Logan practically eating out of her hand, after all this time, but she loved him?   
She chose him?  
  
No way. Or so Zack had thought.  
  
He'd thought that even if the spell Logan had cast on Max did one day wear off, that there would be no way   
she'd go from loving someone like him to loving someone like Zack. Apparently she liked men with   
emotional availability issues; men with missions. But past that, Zack couldn't see any similarities between   
himself and his rival. If Max was so in love with Logan, she couldn't possibly end up loving him.  
  
Besides, he'd been shot up pretty badly at the time Max had said she loved him. Perhaps she hadn't even   
said anything at all. Even if she had, she probably hadn't realized that he'd hear her. Maybe he'd dreamed   
the whole thing up?  
  
So he hadn't believed it. At first.  
  
But then he'd allowed himself to think about her declaration. To consider the sincerity he'd heard in her   
voice, but hadn't allowed himself to believe. To consider the desperation, the sorrow and the pain there, as   
well.  
  
And a little bit of him had begun to believe.  
  
Maybe Max could love him.  
  
And if that were possible, then anything was possible.  
  
Maybe he could live like Max did – pursuing that impossible dream. Maybe he had been denying himself   
for far too long. Maybe it was time to stop.  
  
Because if he'd been wrong about Max's loving him, Zack supposed he could have been wrong about   
everything.  
  
Her declaration had been that effective. It as that surprising that it made Zack question everything he'd   
once held as true.  
  
He didn't know if he'd get any different answers, this time around, but he was beginning to question, all the   
same.  
  
That was what this reunion, really, was all about. Answering that one, big question: what next? If Max   
did love him, what then?   
  
He knew he'd probably disturbed her with his absence these past months. But he'd needed time to think   
these things over. To come to the revelation that he had about his feelings and what they meant for his   
future. For their future.  
  
He only hoped that he hadn't had that revelation too late.  
  
Of course, once he'd begun to believe that Max really did love him, he'd stopped worrying so much about   
losing her love. If his own emotions were any indication, than love wasn't nearly so fleeting as he'd once   
believed. Love – and he didn't know if it were this way for everyone, or if it were exclusive to just certain   
people – but love, as Zack had learned, was a resilient thing. He'd loved Max even when he hadn't been   
able to find her. He'd loved her even when she wasn't his to love. He'd gone back to Manticore for her,   
had taken gunfire for her. And he still loved her.  
  
He was confident that a few months of separation could hardly destroy love, if none of that could.  
  
Well. He was mostly confident.  
  
Then Zack turned, finally deciding it was time to head back. The sun looked lower in the sky now that it   
had been when he'd reached the lake, and the others would be arriving anytime now.  
  
Zack felt anxiety and anticipation at the thought that Max would be there soon. And he'd admit it, he felt a   
little nervous, too.  
  
Then he turned, and it was as if his thoughts had come to life. Because Max was standing there, a couple of   
feet away, just staring at him.  
  
Zack felt surprise, and relief, and all those other things he'd been feeling for so long, all at once.  
  
"Max…"  
  
Then he realized that she looked like she'd seen a ghost.  
  
She thought she had. All this time she'd been worrying about Zack, and there he was in front of her.   
Alive.  
  
Very, very much alive. Beautiful, standing there by the water, with the setting sun in his hair and on his   
tanned skin. His perfect body.  
  
Max was immobilized by the beauty of the scene in front of her.  
  
But then all the love and concern and the fear of the day passed moved her into action.  
  
She saw Zack turn to her and say something, but she didn't hear what.  
  
"Zack!"  
  
All she heard was the beat of her own heart as she was filled with a joy, and a relief that Zack was okay,   
that weakened her entire body.  
  
Then she threw herself at him, and was in his arms.  
  
  
  
**** ****  
  
  
  
  



	10. Chapter 10

An Emergency Change of Command, 10  
by pari106  
  
pari106@hotmail.com  
http://www.geocities.com/pari106/damain.html  
  
Disclaimer: See part 1; Code: M/Z, Logan/Syl; Zane, Krit, All; Rating: PG-13  
  
  
  
An Emergency Change of Command, 10  
by pari106  
  
  
"Max..."  
  
Zack didn't have time to wonder where Max came from, or why she was flinging herself at him. She was   
in his arms before he could consider, and once she was, Zack couldn't resist her. He didn't ask questions,   
he just held on, breathing in her scent and enjoying the feel of her next to him. It seemed like they had   
been apart so long, and he had waited to hold her for so long before that...  
  
"Maxie..."  
  
He wrapped his arms around her, and her arms wrapped around his waist. At first, she was too overcome to   
speak, then she did so, breathlessly.  
  
"Zack...Zack, you're okay. Oh, God, you're okay."  
  
"Of course, I'm okay, Max. What's wrong?"  
  
Max pulled back, looking up at him.  
  
"When Zane called us here, I thought...he wouldn't tell us if...I mean..."  
  
Max was tongue-tied. She didn't like being tongue-tied. She didn't usually get tongue-tied.  
  
But then she remembered that Zack was standing there next to her. Nude.   
  
And her words jumbled over one another until they finally faded away altogether.  
  
"What's wrong, Max?" Zack asked.  
  
His blue eyes were staring into her brown ones. He was pushing a lock of dark hair away from her face,   
and as his fingertips brushed her skin it felt to Max like electricity passed straight through them.  
  
"Zack..."  
  
Whatever else was on her mind, all her earlier fears and regrets and doubts, all of that left Max's head in a   
rush. All she could see was Zack and the sun setting behind him. He was right there with her, and she'd   
missed him so much, for so long. She'd wanted him to touch her, just like this. She'd wanted him to look   
at her, just like that.  
  
The only desire yet left unfulfilled was that of feeling Zack's lips on her own. And Max knew exactly how   
to resolve that problem.  
  
She kissed him.  
  
She just leaned up and pressed her lips against his, and it was one of those momentous kisses where you   
can just feel everything is right. And the second Max kissed him, Zack was kissing her back. His hand   
went to the back of her head, and fisted in her hair. And passion consumed both of them, turning the kiss   
wild and hot.  
  
And then cold. Very cold.  
  
Because Max had completely forgotten where they were standing, and she'd leaned into Zack just a little   
too much.  
  
And then they fell off the little pier, and straight into the lake.  
  
  
  
  
(A/N: Ha! Sorry, I couldn't resist. Just seems like most M/L moments end this way. Something always happens to spoil the moment. So I thought, why should M/Z be spared? Forgive me ;)  



	11. Chapter 11

An Emergency Change of Command, 11  
by pari106  
  
pari106@hotmail.com  
http://www.geocities.com/pari106/damain.html  
  
Disclaimer: See part 1; Code: M/Z, Logan/Syl; Zane, Krit, All; Rating: PG-13  
  
  
  
An Emergency Change of Command, 11  
by pari106  
  
  
"Stupid," Max muttered to herself.  
  
"What?" Zack called over his shoulder, looking back a few paces where Max was lagging behind him on   
their walk back to the cabin.   
  
"Nothing," she snapped.  
  
'Stupid, stupid, stupid…'  
  
Zack just turned around without another word.  
  
'Do…no…laugh. Do NOT laugh…'  
  
Oh, hell, it was so hard not to laugh.  
  
She just looked so cute…and so angry. Like a cat who'd just been given a reluctant bath. Which was a   
pretty accurate analogy, actually. Zack felt his lips quirk.   
  
He'd linger back there with her, try to cheer her up. But can you imagine anything more depressing than   
having *Zack* try to cheer you up? Zack had no illusions about his own competency in the cheer   
department. Or the lack thereof. Besides, he wasn't sure exactly how Max would react.   
  
And Zack supposed he shouldn't find the situation amusing. After all this time of waiting to kiss Max, he   
finally gets his chance and what happens? They fall in a lake. They had this wild, instantaneous passion   
burning so strongly, it shook Zack even with the cold of the water still on his skin, and the cold Washington   
air breezing by them. And they fell in a lake. Weren't cats supposed to be more graceful than that?  
  
This time Zack did chuckle.  
  
"What did you say?" he heard a voice asking from behind.  
  
Zack coughed. "Nothing," he told her.  
  
'Smooth recovery, soldier.'  
  
'…stupid…'  
  
Max huddled into her very wet, and suddenly very cold, jacket, mentally kicking herself. Hard.  
  
She stared at Zack's back as they walked back to the cabin, knowing she was probably being childish by   
not walking by his side, and knowing he probably noticed this, but feeling too awkward to do any   
differently.  
  
God, how could she have been so stupid?  
  
What – she didn't see the lake sitting right there beside them? It was a big fucking lake. How the hell   
could she have missed it?  
  
Max sighed.  
  
There could have been an army of Manticore's best doing synchronized swimming in that lake and she   
would have missed it. Why bother skating around the truth? She was hopeless.  
  
Max shivered and sighed again.  
  
But, really, she supposed falling into the lake was only her biggest mistake of the evening. Kissing Zack   
hadn't been too bright, either.  
  
Hadn't she told herself it was impossible thinking about him that way? Hadn't she come to terms with the   
fact that her chance had passed? Well, no, she hadn't. But she had at least realized that her chance had   
passed, even if she was still far from coming to terms with that fact. She'd told herself that she wouldn't   
try to burden Zack with her feelings now that it was too late for him to accept them. She'd told herself she   
would behave around him the way she always had. He'd already been through too much because of her. It   
would just be mean to tell him she loved him now, after he'd just given up on the love he'd once had for   
her.  
  
Or maybe he'd never really loved her that way. Maybe he'd just thought that he had. Or maybe Max had   
misinterpreted his feelings. Maybe he really did just see her as his little sister. Either way, he probably   
wasn't too thrilled about her literally throwing herself at him, and then throwing them into a lake.  
  
He probably thought she was crazy. Or silly. He was probably annoyed or angry or disgusted…  
  
But it didn't look like he was any of that.  
  
Max stared at Zack's back, trying not to hope, but her heart began to pace again, regardless.  
  
He didn't look annoyed or angry. He certainly hadn't looked disgusted when…  
  
Max nearly stumbled over her own feet, thinking about the kiss.  
  
He hadn't looked disgusted when they'd kissed. In fact, he…he'd kissed her back, hadn't he? Wildly.   
Passionately. He'd kissed her back.  
  
But before Max could ponder this fact any further, Zack stopped, and Max stopped, too, hearing exactly   
what Zack had. The sound of …a fistfight?  
  
At first, Max couldn't understand what could be going on. Earlier, she had other things on her mind. She   
was so relieved that Zack was okay, she hadn't thought too much about how that could be. About why   
Zane had let them spend the last day or so in agony, thinking Zack was hurt, or worse.  
  
Now that she did, Max decided she should probably be pretty pissed off. Perhaps she would be. Later.  
  
Right now there was another matter with which they had to contend.  
  
Because if she'd just learned that Zack was okay, then Zane was probably telling the others the same thing.   
And after their initial relief, they probably weren't too happy with the confession.  
  
Obviously they weren't, as was proven by the sounds of punches being thrown and curses being cursed that   
Max and Zack heard, with their ultra-sensitive ears, coming from the other side of the cabin.  
  
Max and Zack looked at one another as one particularly colorful adjective reached them, and they both said   
the same thing.  
  
"Krit."  
  
Then they ran to Zane's rescue.  
  
  
  
**** ****  
  
  
  
"You son of a …"  
  
"Damn it, Krit! If you'd just…"  
  
"Listen to this, brother."  
  
Krit's fist flew again, and Zane ducked, just in time, missing the shot by not even an inch. Krit's blow   
connected with the door of Zane's truck, by which he'd been standing, and he winced, thinking of the   
bodywork it would need now.  
  
"Jesus, Krit!"  
  
His little brother was smaller, more wiry. But he was also faster, and probably the most confrontational of   
the X5 brothers, even more so than Zack. And he packed one hell of a punch.  
  
He also had a very slow building temper. But a very hot burning one, at that.  
  
Zane rolled, missing a kick that would have cracked a rib or two.  
  
"A little help would be nice!" he called to Syl, who was sitting on his front steps. Laughing. She was   
laughing. How nice.  
  
And she was petting Fluffy, who apparently took little offense to watching a complete stranger beat the   
holy living hell out of his master.  
  
"Kill, Fluffy! Kill!" Zane commanded.  
  
The dog just tilted its head at him..  
  
Traitors, all of them.  
  
"You made your infirmary bed, brother. Now you can suffer in it," his sister quipped.  
  
Finally, Zane leapt back to his feet. Okay, he didn't like to fight, but enough was enough. He held up his   
hands.  
  
"Look, Krit…"  
  
Another dodge, and he'd just barely missed another punch from his brother.   
  
"Krit…"  
  
But this time, the voice speaking wasn't Zane's. Syl looked up from her seat on the steps, and Krit swung   
around and saw…  
  
"Zack!"  
  
Krit's fist fell to his side. It was Zack! And his eyes lit, just a moment, with relief and brotherly affection.   
Then they sparked hot again. Hey, this was Zack. And he'd let Krit worry his ass off for the last day and a   
half.  
  
"Krit…" Zack started to say something, but never finished. Because then Krit's fist hit his jaw.  
  
Zack was so surprised, the blow knocked him to the ground.  
  
Everything stilled. Everyone was quiet.  
  
And then Zane let out a low, breathy whistle that was too horrified to contain any laughter. Krit was a   
brave man, indeed. Punching out the Alpha male?  
  
"Oooh. That was not a good idea."  
  
Zack was surprised. Hell, Krit was surprised. And then that little muscle in Zack's jaw flinched, just a   
little. That little flinch that told you something not good was on its way.  
  
And Krit took off as if the demon hounds of Hell were nipping at his heels. Zack took off after him.  
  
So Zane just brushed the dust off his jeans, watching them go with a smile on his face. Then he felt Max   
walk up beside him.  
  
"Hey, Maxie!"  
  
The pain in his swollen lip and the new dents to his truck were forgotten, as Zane realized he hadn't yet had   
the chance to greet his baby sister.  
  
"Zane!"  
  
Max, likewise, put other things aside, for just a moment, to enjoy the privilege of seeing her brother again,   
after so long. She grinned, pulling him into a hug.  
  
"God, it's been too long," Zane said, before pulling back. "I thought you'd be mad at me. You know,   
because of the phone call thing?"  
  
Max leaned in close. "I am," she said. She never stopped smiling.  
  
Then she decked him.  
  
And from his new perceptive lying on the ground, Zane watched Max and Syl walk into the cabin, hugging   
and exchanging hellos. Patting his goddamned dog on the head, as it tagged happily behind them, wagging   
up a storm.  
  
Zane sighed.  
  
Ah, the joy of familial love.  
  



	12. Chapter 12

An Emergency Change of Command, 12  
by pari106  
  
pari106@hotmail.com  
http://www.geocities.com/pari106/damain.html  
  
Disclaimer: See part 1; Code: M/Z, Logan/Syl; Zane, Krit, All; Rating: PG-13  
  
  
  
An Emergency Change of Command, 12  
by pari106  
  
  
Later that night, a fire was burning in the fireplace. It was dark out, and the night sky was filled with stars.   
It was a peaceful night, with the sound of crickets in the air, the sound of the wind whispering through the   
trees.  
  
Meanwhile, inside the cabin, came the sound of ice crunching, as three X5 males nursed their bruised jaws,   
shifting their makeshift ice compresses, and wincing at the movement.  
  
Syl and Max were sitting on the couch, catching up. Their laughter filled the main room, and the stereo   
was on so music played in the background. And Zane's "surprise" had yet to arrive.  
  
Eventually Krit just couldn't take it anymore – the giggles were starting to get to him. So he plopped down   
on the couch between his sisters, determined to either get in on the fun, or to spoil it and cause a little   
action around here.  
  
Zack watched him with a shake of his head. Then he saw Zane retreat to the kitchen, so he followed.  
  
Zack had to laugh when he saw the look on Zane's face as he added ice to his compress.  
  
"It's not funny," his brother insisted. "Max has one hell of a right hook."  
  
Zack smiled, thinking of that time back at Logan's cabin. Surprised that he could think of that morning   
with a smile now – that day had been the day he'd gone back to Manticore.  
  
"Tell me about it," he muttered. Then he shrugged. But Zane was still grumbling.  
  
"Yeah, well it's different when she fights with you."  
  
Zack raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?"  
  
"Yeah, really. Bet you don't care whether she's hitting you or not, as long as you get to feel her hands on   
you."  
  
Zack blinked. That was new – Zane's teasing him about Max.   
  
He'd told Zane everything about he felt; about what had happened, or hadn't happened, whatever, that time   
at Logan's cabin. But that had been that night of Zack's seizure, and they hadn't really spoken of anything   
said that night since then. Sure, there had been a reference or two to Zack's feelings for Max. That was a   
part of why this reunion had come about. It wasn't just about seeing family, though that was big. It was   
also about showing Max that Zack could do that. He could compromise and do things her way – family   
reunions. Families. Maybe a family with Max? Zane had gotten this idea that if they whisked Max away   
for a weekend, surrounded her with a bunch of X5s he intended to sway to his side, that eventually their   
combined influence would throw her off badly enough that Zack could woo her into loving him back. And   
if that failed, and considering the fact that Plan A rested solely on Max's vulnerability to being "thrown   
off" and on Zack's charm – which Zane was convinced he had none of – Zane had devised Plan B. He and   
the other X5s would simply torture Max until she agreed to love their big brother.  
  
Or maybe not.  
  
But if Zane remembered correctly, Max did have this really ticklish spot, right on her back beneath her left   
shoulder blade. That could be considered an instrument of torture, right? She'd have to give in.  
  
But what Zack *hadn't* told Zane was about Max's saying that she loved him. He didn't know why. He   
supposed that, at the time, it was because he hadn't been certain that she had meant it. He'd spent all his   
time between leaving Seattle and joining Zane helping Brin get located elsewhere. Helping her try and   
recover from the emotional trauma Manticore had caused her. He'd so preoccupied himself with his   
concern for her that he hadn't had time to think about Max's admission. And when his seizures hit, he was   
just beginning to think about it. It had been too soon for Zack to know what the impromptu confession had   
meant. So he hadn't said anything about it.  
  
And neither he nor Zane had mentioned that night since, so Zack hadn't known how to bring it up. So   
Zane, naturally playful though he was, didn't consider the situation comfortable enough for teasing.  
  
But now he was doing just that. Zack supposed it was the swollen jaw talking.  
  
But he didn't mind. The feel of Max's lips was still on his mind, as was the memory of the look in her eyes   
when first she saw him there by the lake. If there was any time Zack could handle a little harmless teasing,   
it was now.  
  
He smiled.  
  
"Can't argue with that," he told his brother, reaching past him and into the fridge for a beer. Trying not to   
laugh at the expression that crossed Zane's face as he said this. "She has nice hands, you know. Soft."  
  
Zane dropped his ice pack.  
  
The towel fell open as it hit the kitchen's tiled floor, and little chips of ice scattered everywhere. And this   
time Zack did laugh.  
  
"Here, you can have mine," he said, tossing the little bundle in Zane's direction. This, too, hit the floor.   
Zane was just standing there, staring, shocked.  
  
Zack shook his head and sighed.  
  
"You…you're joking around," Zane said, as though accusing his brother of something suspicious.  
  
Zack rolled his eyes and frowned. He wasn't usually *that* uptight, was he?  
  
"What, you don't think Max has soft hands?" he asked.  
  
"No. I mean, that's not what I meant. I mean…" Zane shook his head. "You smiled."  
  
A shrug. "I smile sometimes."  
  
"You laughed!"  
  
"Yeah, Zane. I did."  
  
Zack couldn't help smiling again. He tugged the cap off his beer bottle and tossed it aside, where it landed   
with a clink. Then he just leaned back against the counter, taking a drink.  
  
And Zane watched him.  
  
"Well?"  
  
"Well what?"  
  
"Well, what the hell are you laughing about?"  
  
A little smile was starting to replace the slack jaw Zane was sporting. Zack just raised a brow, then pushed   
away from the counter and headed for the door.  
  
"We're a little old for kiss and tell, don't you think?" he called over his shoulder as he left.  
  
And Zane just stood there a moment more before his grin began to grow.  
  
"I'll be damned."  
  
Meanwhile, Fluffy, who had been lying by Zane's feet, looked up, curiously.  
  
"Am I good or what?" Zane asked. The dog barked.  
  
And Zane sent him a glare.  
  
"Who asked you, anyway?" he mumbled.  
  
Fluffy just tilted his head and wagged happily.  
  
  
  
**** ****  
  
  
  
Max sat there on the couch, rolling her eyes at Syl and Krit's antics as they wrestled for the unopened beer   
sitting on a nearby end table.  
  
"Why don't you two just go to the kitchen and get another?" Max asked, knowing the answer even before   
she did.  
  
"No!" Syl and Krit replied simultaneously.  
  
"It's the principle," Syl insisted, reversing the loose chokehold her brother had on her. "That's my beer. I   
brought it in here."  
  
"Bullshit!" Krit countered, reversing the chokehold yet again, coming out on top. "You've hat it since you   
came in here and you haven't opened it yet. Therefore, it's up for grabs."  
  
"Says who?"  
  
"Says me. It's going to get hot, Syl!"  
  
"So? Maybe I like my beer hot."  
  
"Eww!"  
  
And they went back to flipping each other over, rattling any furniture in the vicinity as they did.  
  
Max shook her head.  
  
  
"Forget it. *I'm* going to go get y'all another beer."  
  
"No!" came the simultaneous response, yet again. But neither Syl nor Krit looked up from their places on   
the floor.  
  
Max laughed to herself, heading for the kitchen. Then she stopped, nearly bumping straight into Zack.  
  
Since they'd come back from the lake, she and Zack hadn't been alone together. And she'd gotten over her   
earlier mortification. But apparently she hadn't gotten over the effect of their earlier kiss, because just   
standing there next to him, there in the firelit cabin instead of next to a chilly lake, caused Max's pulse to   
speed.  
  
"Hey," she said softly, feeling lame. But Zack didn't seem to mind. He smiled at her.  
  
'Oh, shit, he's smiling.'  
  
He really had a gorgeous smile. One she didn't see often, and that was all the more special because it was   
so hard to earn.  
  
"Hey," he said back, and Max could have sworn his eyes were smiling, too.  
  
Max felt that same odd sense of…something that had come over her on their walk back to the cabin. That   
sneaky little flutter of hope.  
  
"About earlier. At the lake," she began carefully.  
  
To Max's surprise, Zack's smile didn't fade.  
  
He took a step closer.  
  
"What about it?" he asked.  
  
And Max knew she had to be imagining things. He couldn't be speaking in the low, hot tones she thought   
she heard. He couldn't be looking at her with the kind of glint in his eyes that she thought she saw. But   
Max swallowed anyhow. And she swallowed hard.  
  
Zack lifted his beer to his lips, taking a slow sip without looking away from her face. And Max suddenly   
forgot what she was saying.  
  
'Oh, give me a break!' she thought of her own weakness.  
  
"Something wrong, Max?" Zack was asking.  
  
"I…"  
  
She what? She was sorry for knocking him into the lake? Maybe she wasn't. She certainly wasn't sorry   
about kissing him.  
  
Zack was just looking at her, waiting.  
  
"I…"  
  
Then the sound of their siblings, feuding in the background, intruded upon the moment.  
  
"Say it," a fierce female voice commanded.  
  
"No."  
  
"Say it!"  
  
"No! Ow!"  
  
Max and Zack rolled their eyes as one and Max had to kind of laugh.  
  
"Here, have mine," Zack finally said, setting his bottle down on the table next to the one Syl and Krit had   
been fighting for.  
  
Syl wrinkled her nose. "But you've been…"  
  
But whatever she was saying ended in a yelp, because Krit apparently had none of the same hygiene issues   
as his sister.  
  
"Thanks, bro!" he said, rising quickly enough that Syl was surprised and, having been crouched on top of   
him, fell to the floor with a soft thud, landing straight on her ass. Krit grabbed the bottle and plopped down   
on the couch, taking a swig.   
  
Syl looked at him, incredulous.  
  
"What the hell!"  
  
"What?"  
  
Syl glared. "If you just wanted any beer, then why the hell were you fighting for mine?"  
  
Krit smiled at her, looking smugly triumphant. "It's the principle, remember?" he told her. Then he took a   
drink as he gestured at the bottle still sitting by its lonesome. "Besides," Krit shrugged. "Yours is hot   
now."  
  
Syl blinked. Then she looked at the bottle…then at Krit…then back at the bottle. Then she got this gleam I   
her eye that made her brother's smile slowly disappear.  
  
"Oh….uh-uh." Krit held the bottle to him, realizing what was on Syl's mind. "Don't even think it."  
  
Syl thought it.  
  
And they were at it again.  
  
Standing there in the doorway, both Zack and Max laughed. But then, Zack caught Max's gaze with his   
own, and the atmosphere suddenly became less humorous.  
  
It was tense. Damn, but he wasn't good with this kind of tense.  
  
"You want to go talk outside?" Zack asked. Max nodded and they slipped out the front door.  
  
Neither caught Syl staring at them as they left, but Krit noticed her sudden preoccupation.  
  
And he wasn't above using it to his own advantage.   
  
He made a successful leap for the much sought-after bottle and Syl finally sighed, rolling her eyes and   
pushing Krit out of the way as she rose to her feet.  
  
"Fine, take the damned beer," she grumbled.  
  
Then the grabbed the other bottle, leaving to drink her warm alcohol in peace.  
  
Krit sat there a moment, wondering about his sister's abrupt mood swing.  
  
Then he shrugged.  
  
Who really understood X5 women, anyhow?  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Zack followed Max out of the cabin, and when she sat down in the bench swing on the porch, he surprised   
her by sitting down next to her.  
  
Then they just sat there a moment.  
  
"So…" they both said, simultaneously.  
  
They both kind of laughed, and Zack ran a hand through his hair.  
  
It was a pretty night outside tonight. Granted, Zack couldn't remember ever having used the word "pretty"   
in a sentence before. But he figured Max would think it was pretty. The starry sky, the still woods, the   
fireflies that could just barely be seen from a distance. Zack didn't think it was too bad, either. It   
was…nice. Peaceful.  
  
And Max was here with him, smiling a beautiful smile.  
  
' "Pretty" and "beautiful" all in the same matter of moments. Getting soft, soldier,' came the habitual   
thought. But Zack figured he was entitled to a soft side, after having lived such a hard life.   
  
A bit of one anyhow. There was only so much 'soft' Zack could tolerate in himself.  
  
Besides, he'd always known Max was beautiful.  
  
But as much as he'd like to just sit there and stare at the woman he loved, the situation was still so   
unresolved. He wasn't comfortable with reveling – even now that he'd decided to make some changes in   
his life, to slow down. So he stopped reveling in pretty scenery and beautiful smiles and got to the point.  
  
"About the lake," he reminded Max.  
  
And Max smiled again, guessing Zack's thoughts. The gesture became a little nervous, however.   
  
"About the lake…" she repeated. Then she looked at him. "About the kiss…"  
  
Zack's eyes strayed off to the distance for a moment, then returned to her face. As they did Zack moved   
closer to Max, who'd suddenly become frozen in her seat, her heart pounding.  
  
Zack reached up and toyed with a strand of her hair.  
  
He looked into her eyes, searchingly.  
  
"You regret it?" he asked.  
  
He knew a good soldier never made assumptions. Max's enthusiastic greeting, coupled with her   
declaration months ago, made Zack assume that he could interpret Max's feelings behind the kiss as being   
the same kind of feelings he was having. But he knew he had to keep himself open to the possibility that   
he'd assumed wrong. And his heart began to beat faster, as well, both from Max's nearness, and from   
uncertainty about what she'd say next. From the fear that he'd made a mistake.  
  
But it seemed that his fears were the only things mistaken.  
  
Max looked up at him, bringing a hand to his cheek.  
  
"Never," she whispered.  
  
They were staring into one another's eyes, breathing I one another's scent. The evening air suddenly   
seemed sultry, and the beat of their hearts eclipsed the sounds of the countryside. They were each thinking   
how gorgeous the other was, how perfect, how wonderfully imperfect, ad they were so close…  
  
And this time it was Zack who closed that final distance between them. He leaned over and kissed Max.   
And before they knew it, they were wrapped up in each other's arms, holding, touching.  
  
After a lifetime of not quite fitting – not quite fitting with anyone, not quite fitting in anywhere – suddenly   
they just *fit*. They felt like where they were, and who they were was right. For the first time for each of   
them, they were holding someone in their arms who they didn't feel the need to hide from. To explain   
themselves to, or to apologize to for the way they were, the way they lived.  
  
After what seemed like a lifetime of wanting and waiting and wondering, Max and Zack were together.   
And it was worth everything it took for them to get there.  
  
This wasn't a hasty confession in the dark, spoken in a moment of fear and desperation. This wasn't a   
hasty embrace, brought on by a long separation or by a day's worth of worries. This was passion and love   
and companionship and desire all on its own. This was a conscious acknowledgment of mutual need and   
affection. And it knocked the breath right out of both of them.  
  
  



	13. Chapter 13

An Emergency Change of Command, 13  
by pari106  
  
pari106@hotmail.com  
http://www.geocities.com/pari106/damain.html  
  
Disclaimer: See part 1; Code: M/Z, Logan/Syl; Zane, Krit, All; Rating: PG-13  
  
A/N: Okay, this one might get a little sappy. Okay, a lot sappy. Sorry!   
  
A/A/N: Alright, I lied. I'm not sorry! ? Max and Zack never get to be sappy, so there!   
A little sap can be a good thing. Just let me know if I overdid it.  
  
An Emergency Change of Command, 13  
by pari106  
  
  
  
Neither Zack nor Max knew how long they sat there in that swing, merged. But after   
some time, they did need to come up for air. And as they did, Zack took Max's head in   
his hands, resting their foreheads together.  
  
"I can't believe this is happening," they both muttered, then laughed.  
  
Then Max pulled back.  
  
"When you left Seattle, I thought…" suddenly her words trailed off, and the hesitation   
was so unlike Max.  
  
"You thought what?" Zack asked.  
  
Max waited a moment, then met his eyes.  
  
"I thought maybe you hated me."  
  
Zack's fingers lightly caressed Max's cheeks before he let his hands fall away.  
  
"I could never hate you, Maxie," he told her. "Why would you think that?"  
  
Max shook her head, frowning. She turned her eyes out into the night. She'd been on   
such an emotional roller-coaster ride lately. When Zack put his arms around her again,   
Max leaned back against him, and finally she spoke.  
  
"You've done so much for me," she said. She felt that damn peculiar sting at the back of   
her eyes again, but she looked up at him anyhow. "For all of us," she added.  
  
Zack shifted uncomfortably in his seat. And Max couldn't miss how awkward his shrug   
was as he responded to her offhanded praise. He wasn't very good with compliments or   
gratitude, Max realized. Which wasn't very surprising, she supposed, considering the   
fact that it was the X5s whom were most grateful to him. Genetically engineered soldiers   
weren't very good in the emotional expression department, Max knew. But it was a little   
sad, she thought. Because there was no one who deserved a little gratitude more than   
Zack. There was no one who had the sort of loyalty that Zack had from his brothers and   
sisters. They knew what he did for them, and they would gladly give their lives in   
gratitude, even if they never said so.   
  
Max knew it. Maybe, on some level, Zack knew it. But he wasn't comfortable   
acknowledging it.  
  
"That's my choice," he simply said.  
  
"Is it?" Max asked, surprising him just a little. "You didn't ask to be born into this   
bitch."  
  
Zack shifted again.  
  
"None of us did," he told her.  
  
Max shook her head. Her voice took on an impassioned tone as guilt rose to the surface   
of her emotions. "But I didn't make things any easier, did I? Always questioning orders.   
You warned me to leave Seattle. I didn't and you turned yourself over to Lydecker   
because of me."  
  
Zack grabbed Max's chin and turned her face so she was looking at him again. He heard   
the anguish in her voice and it touched him at the same time that it frightened him. He   
was as unused to accepting…whatever it was that was lying beneath Max's words as he   
was at accepting praise. He was unused to any of the softer emotions that humans felt.   
He'd had little experience with them.  
  
"I turned myself in for a crime I committed, Max," he reminded her. And she surprised   
him again with the sudden anger that replaced the guilt in her tone as she responded.  
  
"Bullshit," she said. "You didn't do anything. You've never done anything you didn't   
have to do."  
  
"Max…"  
  
"You didn't. You know it. The only reason you ended up back at Manticore was to keep   
me from ending up back there myself."  
  
Zack didn't know what to say to that. It was true.  
  
Max shook her head.  
  
"If it wasn't for me, none of that would have happened," she said.  
  
"I've done nothing but cause you trouble," she said next.  
  
This time Zack shook his head.  
  
"That's not true."  
  
"Yes it is! Zack…you got shot because of me," she said quietly, her eyes shining.  
  
Zack sighed.  
  
"Maxie…my choice, remember?" he asked, softly.  
  
"Yes, but…"  
  
"Wouldn't you have done the same thing?"  
  
Max's answer was immediate and sincere. Matter of fact. "You know I would."   
  
Zack just looked at her a moment, then he reached up and touched her hair again. How   
spectacular to be able to do that so easily now – just to reach out and touch her.  
  
Then he made a decision.  
  
"Yeah, I do," he said quietly. And the way he said it made Max wonder what he meant.   
She looked at him curiously.  
  
And then he told her, and she knew.  
  
"I heard you," he said.  
  
Max blinked.  
  
"What?"  
  
"That night after the raid. I heard you, Max."  
  
Max stilled, surprised.  
  
"Wha…what?" That's all she could say. He'd heard her. When she'd told him that she   
loved him he'd heard her. But how…why…. Wait a moment. If he'd heard her, why   
didn't he tell her afterwards?  
  
Zack watched all these thoughts and emotions play out across Max's face, but he rose a   
finger to her lips before she could speak, hurrying to explain himself before she could get   
the wrong idea.  
  
"Just listen, okay?" he asked. "I know you thought I didn't hear you. I didn't mean to   
deceive you or anything, I just…"  
  
Zack captured her gaze with his.  
  
"At first, I wasn't sure I heard you right. Then, when I realized that I hadn't been   
hallucinating…I needed time to think. About a lot of things."  
  
Zack stood, walking over to the porch's railing and staring out at the night sky. Then he   
turned, leaning back against the rails. Max just watched him, waiting, heart beating,   
hoping and fearing.  
  
"You talk like you've made all these mistakes, Max," he finally said. "But what about   
my mistakes? Yeah, staying in Seattle might not have made things easier on me, but   
when did I ever try to make things easier on you or the others?"  
  
Max frowned. "I don't un…"  
  
Zack walked back to the swing.  
  
"Did I make things any easier on you?" he continued. "Acting like nothing else meant   
half as damned much to me as my goddamned mission to protect the X5s?"   
  
Max swallowed. Saying as much would be a direct statement of how she really felt about   
him. But hadn't she already made that statement by kissing him? Not once, but twice?   
Still, Max didn't answer, she just stared into Zack's eyes. She could tell he'd been   
thinking about this for some time. But what exactly was it that he was thinking? Max   
didn't understand.  
  
Zack continued.  
  
"I've dedicated so much of my life to keeping all of you out of Manticore, that I lost sight   
of why we left in the first place," he told her.  
  
"There's nothing wrong with your being dedicated, Zack," Max said in response.  
  
"There is if that's all I am," Zack said. "if that's all I do; all I ever think about." Zack   
shook his head, the dream of earlier that day, and all its underlying guilt, coming back to   
him. "I could have been there for Tinga, Max," he said, voicing his regrets for the first   
time since that night in the woods with Zane. "And for Charlie and Case. But I wasn't.   
That's what I'm talking about. I was so goddamned dedicated to my mission as CO, I   
never let anything else interfere. Not even my fucking family, and my family *is* my   
mission. I never even stopped to consider that maybe caring about someone, being there   
for someone isn't just "interference". So what if Tinga had a husband and son? So what   
if it was dangerous? Hell, life is dangerous. What's done is done. How did being a total   
asshole to my sister help that situation?"  
  
Max could finally see where Zack was going with this, and she didn't like it.  
  
"Zack…"  
  
"I never stopped to think if I was carrying out my "mission" the way I should," Zack   
continued. "I never even considered doing things differently." And something in his   
voice made Max's protests die on her lips. Was he saying…  
  
"I was narrow-minded, Max," Zack said. "Maybe you never listened, but neither did I."   
He pulled her into an embrace once again. "I've made mistakes, too, Maxie. We've all   
made mistakes."  
  
Max couldn't resist his hug, or the hope that had begun to dawn when Zack began to   
speak about "doing things differently". But she couldn't let him get away with   
diminishing her sins that easily.  
  
"But my mistakes could have gotten you killed," she insisted.  
  
Zack rested his chin on the top of her head, then rubbed his cheek against her soft hair.   
He was letting himself relax here with Max like he never had before. And the novelty of   
the experience was making him a lot more talkative than he'd ever been.  
  
"But they didn't," he said next. "I'm okay, Max. In fact, I'm better than okay. Because   
of you."  
  
Max looked up at him.  
  
"I never considered doing things differently. Living differently. Living, Max. Really   
living, not just running all the time. I never considered doing things any   
differently…until that night. Until you told me you loved me."  
  
Max's pulse sped even more, as déjà vu set in. Same look in Zack's eyes, same embrace   
slowly pulling her in, same soft touch against her cheek as Zack pulled her even closer.   
Their faces were drawing near, once again. Zack was going to kiss her again, she   
realized. Max didn't know whether to laugh or cry. It just seemed too good to be true:   
the words he was saying, the look he was giving her, the kisses they were sharing…  
  
"Zack…" she breathed his name.  
  
Zack paused, that last inch before their lips touched again.  
  
"How could I hate you, Maxie?" he asked, his voice almost a whisper, going back to the   
comment she'd made earlier. And the look in his eyes told Max that that comment had   
stung him somehow. As if it hurt him that Max would consider him capable of feeling   
that way about her. "How could I not love you, Max?" he asked her next.  
  
And Max's parted lids suddenly rose, as she became wide-eyed.  
  
'How could I not…'  
  
Had he really said that? Did he mean…  
  
"Zack…"  
  
And then he kissed her. It was another long, deep kiss that Max put all of her heart into.   
She felt like everything around her, within her, was suddenly amplified. The sounds   
around them sounded louder, the feel of the breeze floating by them felt cooler, the feel   
of Zack's body against hers felt warmer. She shivered everywhere they touched, and   
there were tears forming in the corner of her eyes.  
  
Then Zack drew back.  
  
Max wondered, at first, why. She could go on kissing him like that, holding him, for the   
rest of the night.  
  
But then she heard what he heard. A vehicle close by.  
  
"What…"  
  
Max became alert at the sound, but a look at Zack made her relax. He didn't look   
worried. In fact, he smiled.  
  
"Looks like Zane's little surprise just showed up," he said, and Max frowned, not   
knowing what he was referring to. But then she looked where he was looking, and her   
eyes adjusted to the distance and the darkness between her and the vehicle. She looked at   
the driver…  
  
"Jondy!"  



	14. Chapter 14

An Emergency Change of Command, 14  
by pari106  
  
pari106@hotmail.com  
http://www.geocities.com/pari106/damain.html  
  
Disclaimer: See part 1; Code: M/Z, Logan/Syl; Zane, Krit, All; Rating: PG-13  
  
  
An Emergency Change of Command, 14  
by pari106  
  
  
Max stared at the Jeep, then at Zack, then at the approaching Jeep.   
  
Zack had to smile.  
  
"Zane's surprise," he told her, with a nod at the vehicle.  
  
Max smiled. "Well, I knew Jondy was supposed to be coming. But me and Syl figured,   
since she hadn't shown up yet…"  
  
But the look on Zack's face made her stop.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Not Jondy," Zack told her. "The surprise is who she's got with her."  
  
Max's smile slowly began to spread.  
  
"Who's she got with her?"  
  
Zack just gave her a sort of drawn out shrug, making Max's eyebrow lift, and Zack   
laughed at the look she sent him.  
  
"Don't make me force the information out of you, soldier," she threatened playfully.  
  
And Zack's eyes changed just a little as she said that. He leaned in closer to her, and his   
smile became teasing.  
  
"That sounds promising," he told her, startling her just a little.  
  
Max blinked. Was that…sexual innuendo? From Zack?  
  
Suddenly that jeep and its passengers had been delegated to the back of Max's mind. She   
swallowed, but not being the skittish type, she didn't lose her smile. Even if it had   
become shaky all of a sudden.  
  
"Really?" she said, attempting an attitude. She was failing miserably, but neither of them   
cared.  
  
"I've got to tell you though," he said, leaning in that last inch. She could feel his breath   
on her cheek as he spoke and it made Max shiver. "You might have to work me over for   
a while. X5s have amazing stamina, you know."  
  
Then he kissed her before she could think too much about that.  
  
This kiss was brief, and when Zack pulled back, he grabbed Max by the hand.   
  
"This can wait," he promised her, brushing her lips with his one last time before he   
tugged on her hand, leading her off the porch.  
  
Max blinked. Then she smiled, squeezing Zack's hand. "Right," she said. Then she   
followed him down.  
  
It was goddamned hard being with Max, talking with her like they had been, kissing her   
like he had, and then just walking away. Zack wanted to talk some more, which was   
down right scary for him. But it was true. He wanted to hear her say she loved him   
again, and this time he wanted to be able to say it back. He wanted to tell her that he'd   
decided to move to Seattle with her, if that's what she wanted. He wanted to tell her   
everything.  
  
And afterwards he wanted to do a whole hell of a lot of things that didn't require talking.  
  
But that would have to wait. This was a big day – and not just because they were finally   
together. Max, Syl, and Krit still had to meet their surprise.  
  
As they walked down the porch, Zack had to pride himself in the fact that Max looked   
just as reluctant to postpone their time together as he was. But this "surprise" wasn't just   
for Max, Syl, and Krit. It had been a long time since he'd since this side of his family, as   
well. And he'd die a losing battle before he admitted it, but he actually felt excited about   
seeing them now.  
  
As the jeep pulled up, Zack saw that same excitement in Max's eyes.  
  
The jeep rolled to a stop, and Jondy was out the door almost before it stopped, with this   
huge grin on her lovely face.  
  
"Jondy!"  
  
"Max!"  
  
That grin spread from one sister to the other, and Zack squirmed, but yeah, he was   
smiling, too.  
  
Max felt amazing. It was spectacular – first Zane, and now Jondy. She was breathless   
and she felt like she had a dozen things to say all at the same time. The two sisters   
caught each other in a hug the second Jondy was around the jeep.  
  
"Wow, baby sister, you look just like I thought you would," Jondy said, eyes shining with   
an affectation that couldn't be erased by time or distance. She loved her little sister just   
as much now as she had ten years ago. It was a feeling all the X5s shared for one   
another.  
  
Max just laughed, because she couldn't say the same. Jondy looked…basically the same.   
Same facial features. She was taller than her other sisters, and very slender. But her   
hair…  
  
No Manticore laboratory could have produced that hair.  
  
Jondy sensed her thoughts and laughed, picking up one long, fire-red spiral between two   
fingers.  
  
"I know. It did this around the time I turned fifteen, I guess. I was strawberry blonde till   
then." She grinned, time having made the thought of their past more of a fact and less of   
a painful memory. "Good thing we got out when we did, huh? Lydecker would have had   
the whole genetic engineering department shut down."  
  
Yeah, good thing. Ten years ago…wow. They had a lot of catching up to do.  
  
But, first, Jondy turned to Zack, her eyes taking on a knowing glint. Unlike the others,   
she'd known what this little "emergency meeting" of the X5s was all about – Zane had   
told her. It had surprised her at first. At first, she'd thought Zane was just pulling her   
leg. Then she thought Zack must just be fooling around.  
  
But then she saw Max and Zack on the porch together. Then she'd seen them walk up to   
her, hand in hand.  
  
Now she smiled at her big brother with true tenderness; true happiness.  
  
Looks like the fearless CO's heart of stone had finally crumbled.  
  
If Jondy had tear ducks she'd be weeping right now.  
  
"Hey, brother," she greeted, giving Zack a hug.   
  
Now Zack can hug. But, like with all things sentimental, did he hug when given the   
choice? Usually not. Unless the huggee in question, as it were, was Max. For apparent   
reasons. But he can hug. It just makes him a little uncomfortable. And that look Jondy   
kept giving him wasn't helping him any.  
  
"Hey, Jond," he said in return, anyhow. He *was* happy to see her. But his eyes   
threatened death and dismemberment if she said one word, just *one* word, of what he   
could see was on her mind.  
  
Jondy just pulled back, still smiling, with a raise of the eyebrows that said 'Message   
received.'  
  
Max gave them both a strange look, but she was too happy to see her sister to linger on   
the thought very long.  
  
"So…what's this big "surprise" I keep hearing about?" she asked.  
  
Jondy's smile widened again. Oh, this was going to be good.  
  
She opened her mouth to speak, but the sound of a car door opening cut her off.  
  
Max, Jondy, and Zack turned to the Jeep as one…  
  
And saw Jace climbing out of the vehicle, grinning just like the rest of her present family,   
holding a tiny little dark-haired bundle in her arms. Brin climbed out right behind her.  
  
At last, their family was complete.  



	15. Chapter 15

An Emergency Change of Command, 15  
by pari106  
  
pari106@hotmail.com  
http://www.geocities.com/pari106/damain.html  
  
Disclaimer: See part 1; Code: M/Z, Logan/Syl; Zane, Krit, All; Rating: PG-13  
  
A/N: Okay, kids, I had to throw in something interesting…so here goes. Hope you like   
it.  
  
An Emergency Change of Command, 15  
by pari106  
  
That night went on like a dream for Max.  
  
Seeing her family again was everything she'd hoped. Though it was late at night, once   
Jondy, Jace, Brin, and little Max arrived, Zane decided to cook. Then everyone else   
begged him not to. But they were all starving, so Jace cooked dinner instead. She and   
"Maxita" had moved in with a large family in Cuernavaca, so she'd gotten used to   
preparing large meals. Good thing, considering how X5s can eat. Krit kept her company   
and helped out. Meanwhile, Max played with her namesake and watched the baby play   
with Brin. Being around a child was good for her, Max decided. And little Max had   
apparently grown fond of Brin on their trip to the cabin. It was fun to watch them.   
Maxita was a gorgeous little girl. She was only about a year old, but her hair had already   
grown past her shoulders in beautiful, ebony waves. She had Jace's eyes, but her mother   
said little Max's chin and nose were all her father's.   
  
While dinner was in the oven, all the X5s gathered in the living room just to talk. You'd   
think the atmosphere would be awkward. They hadn't seen each other in years. And   
they weren't the most talkative people. But once they got together, and the mood took   
over, soon all eight X5s were talking and laughing loudly, with Jondy sitting between   
Zack and Zane on the couch, Max and Brin sitting on the floor with the baby and Fluffy,   
who became an instant favorite with the child. Syl and Krit sat together, straddling a   
chair, and Jace sat in Zane's recliner. It was perfect, and they even mentioned doing this   
again, on a regular basis. But when Max asked, the others were oddly reluctant to discuss   
why they'd gotten together in the first place.  
  
Max couldn't help but feel as though she were missing something. But no one else   
seemed to notice, so she let it go.  
  
And in the meantime, Max also couldn't help the occasional heated glance in Zack's   
direction. Whenever she did look his way, her heart would start to race as she realized he   
was looking at her, too.  
  
She wanted to eat up every single moment she had to spend with her family.  
  
But she was also looking forward to the moments she wanted to spend with Zack, once   
everyone had settled down for the night. And the look in Zack's eyes told her that those   
moments would come. Max smiled just thinking about it.  
  
Dinner was a fiasco.  
  
Max had known it would be. X5s were desperate creatures when in the direct vicinity of   
good food. And since few of them had bothered to eat well in the last day or so, this fact   
was particularly true tonight.   
  
They all gathered around Zane's table, and Zane couldn't help but look on the scene with   
a bit of pride. They were together just like he'd hoped. The whole atmosphere was noisy   
and boisterous. Like the atmosphere you'd expect in the home of any family. Well…  
  
Maybe not just any family.  
  
Jondy was currently threatening Krit with a hunting knife because he was taking too   
much time with the pepper shaker. She wanted to eat, damn it. Now. And she couldn't   
eat till her entire plate was covered in seasoning. Zane really worried about that girl   
sometimes.  
  
As for himself, he never used any sort of seasonings. And if he did, they were used in   
extremely small amounts. His sense of smell was just too defined. In fact, he had to   
push himself away from the table while the others who weren't similarly designed   
lathered their plates in salt and pepper. Just to keep from sneezing his head off.  
  
As he waited for the pepper war to resolve itself, he watched his brothers and sisters,   
together for the first time, and wondered about what their different eating styles said   
about each.  
  
Jace hadn't fixed her plate yet – she was feeding little Max, though Brin had offered to do   
it for her. Little Max was only one, but she was eating the same dish that all of the others   
were, all of her teeth having already come in. All thirty-two of them, that is. Brin ate   
slowly and carefully, while Max barely seemed to taste her meal as she consumed it.   
Jondy was the most slender person seated at the table, but she ate the most – piling her   
plate high, and Krit had this weird thing about serving sizes. He ate just as much as the   
rest of them, but he had to eat one serving at a time. He'd only fill half his plate, then   
he'd go back again and again. Zane didn't get it, but then, Krit said it had something to   
do with measuring out the proper amount of seasoning for each side. So, as has already   
been established, naturally Zane wouldn't understand. Zane liked to consider himself the   
"normal" one in the group, while Syl couldn't eat anything until all her sides were   
mushed into one, big, indistinguishable mass. Zack, as the opposite, kept all his food   
separated. He might as well have been eating off a Manticore-issue tray. Sometimes   
Zane even caught him arranging the food exactly how it would have been arranged back   
at the compound, though this was an unconscious act, and Zane was sure his brother had   
never noticed.   
  
The topics of discussion being carried on the table were just as varied as the participants.   
Between talk about potty training and the latest Lakers game, you could hear someone   
listing the advantages and disadvantages of her particular choice in attack rifle.   
Meanwhile, someone else insisted that, no, it was his favorite weapon that was far   
superior. Then, of course, Max had to enter that conversation, protesting against the use   
of guns, in all their evil.  
  
"But if you just go around punching people," Jondy reasoned, "You'd break all your   
nails."  
  
Then she flashed ten perfectly manicured digits over the table.  
  
"Do you realize how hard it is to keep these babies in tact?" she asked. Syl nodded,   
feeling her pain.  
  
Zack just shook his head. It was amazing these people survived at all, with or without   
him.   
  
And as the conversation continued, Zane just sat back, listening, but mostly watching.   
And mostly watching Zack and Max. Watching the looks flying across the table.  
  
Oh, yes. This had been a good thing. Zack would definitely owe him for this, and owe   
him big.  
  
Zane beamed.  
  
And he didn't realize it, but someone else at that table was doing a little watching, as   
well. Brin watched the look on Zane's face with puzzlement. She could understand him   
being happy – she was happy. Happier than she'd been in a long time. But she couldn't   
help but feel like there was something going on in that head of his.  
  
Of course, this wouldn't be much of a surprise. It seemed like everyone had something   
strange going on in their heads. There was a secret circulating the X5s, but she hadn't   
been let in on it. And whatever it was it concerned why the X5s were gathered here   
tonight. Whenever she or Max had mentioned it earlier, it seemed like all the others were   
determined to squash the question. And everyone was being so moody.   
  
Well, not everyone. But there was Zane's goofy grin. And those weird looks Max and   
Zack kept having. What was that? And Syl was being awfully quiet. She kept glancing   
in Max and Zack's directions, and whenever she did, she didn't look very happy.  
  
Odd.  
  
After dinner, the guys cleared away the table. They insisted on doing the dishes, but after   
Zane broke two dishes, and three glasses were lost in an impromptu juggling act   
orchestrated by Zack and Krit, Jace promptly shooed them away. Then she and Syl   
tackled clean up, leaving the men to saunter away like scorned children.   
  
Max and Brin tried to steal Maxita away again, but the others would have nothing of it.   
Krit, Zane, and Jondy claimed it was their turn to play, and they took turns riding little   
Max around the cabin, piggyback. Even Fluffy gave the child a couple of rides. Then   
they went out front so they could run around under the lamplight.   
  
The last time Max looked, Zane and Krit were tossing Max back and forth, high in the   
air, as the child shrieked with pleasure.  
  
Max shook her head.  
  
That couldn't be good for the kid. Maybe she ought to tell Jace to run outside and rescue   
her daughter?  
  
Then Max settled back down in front of the fire with a smile on her face.  
  
Nah. If she was correct, little Max's diaper was very close to needing a changing. And   
she didn't want to be there when the others realized this. She'd much rather have one of   
them deal with the situation. Could you just see Zane or Krit trying to change a diaper?   
Or Jondy, with her perfectly manicured nails? Zack was outside, too, but Max could   
guarantee he wouldn't be the one to end up with diaper duty. Zack was a brave man and   
a formidable soldier. He was also absolutely terrified of squirmy, dirty, happy little   
children, Max was certain.  
  
At this thought, Max's smile grew even wider.  
  
Then Brin was sitting down beside her, in front of the fire. She passed Max the beer   
she'd gone to retrieve. And she raised a brow.  
  
"What are you thinking about?" she asked.  
  
Max shook her head. "Squirmy, dirty, happy little children," she said cryptically.  
  
Brin's brow raised further. Then she smiled. "You mean little Max? Or those other big   
babies?" Then she gestured to the window overlooking the front porch, and Max turned   
to see what she saw.  
  
Apparently, Zane and Krit had realized Max's…condition. And Zane was holding her,   
bottom end out, as he chased after Krit. Krit scowled, and tried to voice his displeasure   
without actually cussing (for the baby's sake), and ran like hell. Little Max, totally   
oblivious to the reason for the new game, laughed like mad.  
  
Max laughed so hard, she had to lay down, and Brin was laughing, too.  
  
Then Max slowly let her own laughter subside, as she let herself watch her sister. She   
gave her a gentle smile.  
  
"It's good to see that," she said quietly.  
  
Brin looked over at her.   
  
"What? Zane chasing Krit with a dirty diaper? Ten to one we'll find Zane murdered in   
his sleep tonight," Brin said.  
  
But Max shook her head. "No. I mean you. It's good to see you," she told her.  
  
Brin's own laughter subsided, as well, and she returned Max's smile.  
  
"Thanks," she said, sincerely. And they just stared at one another for a moment. Then:  
  
"Oh, hell."  
  
Max just had to hug her, and the two of them laughed as they embraced.  
  
As they pulled away, Brin smiled again. A little sheepish this time.  
  
"You know…without you I don't' think I could have done this," she said, completely   
serious.  
  
Max smiled, but she shook her head.  
  
"Brin…"  
  
"It's true! I was…such a mess." Brin's voice quieted and her eyes darkened as she   
thought of what she'd been dealing with after leaving Manticore. What she would   
always deal with, in some part. Her guilt over Tinga's death. But she was coming to   
terms with it, making peace with her sister. Making peace with herself.  
  
Max sensed the melancholy of Brin's thoughts and put a comforting hand on her   
shoulder. Brin grasped it in her own.  
  
"If it weren't for Zack helping me through, I don't think I would have made it past the   
first month. And everything he did for me was because of you. Because of something   
you said to him."  
  
Max looked out the window to where Zack was sitting on the porch, talking to Jondy,   
then back at Brin. Her eyes full of love for him and pride in what he'd accomplished.   
Brin truly had been a mess. That she could be sitting here right now, with her, laughing,   
was truly a miracle. Whatever Zack had done for her had been wonderful. Even though   
she'd loved him, she'd never known he was capable of the sort of tender compassion it   
must have taken to get through to such an emotionally scarred case as Brin had been.  
  
"Really?" she asked now.  
  
"Yeah. He never said what you told him, but he said it made him think. About a lot of   
things. And that gave him what he needed to be there for me."  
  
"Really?" Max could only repeat. Zack's words from earlier came back to her. "It made   
me think. About a lot of things," he'd told her. He'd been talking about her telling him   
that she loved him. Had that really made such a difference to him?  
  
'Oh, Zack…'  
  
Brin smiled, and kind of laughed. "Yeah. I didn't think Zack was the nurturing type, you   
know. After the two of you got me out of Manticore, I was so worried I'd just be in his   
way. I was feeling so emotional, and Zack wasn't very good with emotions."  
  
Max nodded. "Yeah." Poor Zack. It had always been so hard for him to accept   
weakness in others. In himself, most of all. And he'd once seen emotion as a weakness.  
  
But no more, right?   
  
"I never considered doing things differently," he'd said. "Until you told me you loved   
me."  
  
"…doing things differently…"  
  
Was that the difference? Emotion? Did he no longer see it as a weakness? Could he   
accept it now? He seemed to accept it from her. Did that mean he accepted it from   
himself?  
  
Brin was still talking, and her words snapped Max out of her reverie.  
  
"So when we left Seattle together…"  
  
Max looked at her sharply.  
  
"What?"  
  
Brin blinked. What had she said.  
  
"I said…"  
  
"Yeah, I know." Then Max smiled, trying to make herself less sharp than she had. Brin   
had just surprised her, that's all. She didn't know Zack had left with Brin. And he hadn't   
mentioned it. Why was that?  
  
"I mean, I didn't know you two left Seattle together," Max clarified.  
  
"Okay." Brin gave Max an odd look, but whatever she'd sensed in her sister's voice   
before didn't seem to be there any longer. Maybe she'd imagined it?  
  
Then Brin got caught back up in her story, and she smiled again.  
  
"Anyhow, when we left Seattle together, I figured it would be same as usual. Find a new   
place, set up a new identity. Hello, goodbye, here's my contact number. Maybe a pat on   
the back and that little look Zack gives you when he's worried but he doesn't know what   
to do about it, you know?"  
  
Max nodded.  
  
And Brin shrugged. "And that was cool. That's all I expected. But I so didn't want to   
be alone, Max," she said. Brin's eyes were shining with tears again, all of a sudden, and   
Max put that comforting hand back on her shoulder. A weird thought was beginning to   
form in her head, however.  
  
Through Brin's tears, there was also happiness. And gratitude.  
  
"But he didn't leave me alone. He set me up in a new place, but he didn't just leave right   
away. He stayed to talk. Just to be there if I needed him." Brin shook her head, thinking   
about it. She still couldn't believe it. How good Zack had been to her. How much it had   
helped. "And we talked. He let me talk his ear off! I've never felt so much better in all   
my life. I really needed someone to talk to, you know? I was just afraid to open up to   
anyone."  
  
Brin raised a brow. "But you know Zack. If he says he's there to listen, well, by God,   
you better give him something to listen to. He doesn't take no for an answer." Brin   
would never forget that. She would never forget how that had saved her from herself.   
"Strangest therapist I've ever seen," she quipped. "It's like, 'Hey, sis, I'm here to talk.   
Let it all out.' All supportive. Then, when that doesn't work, he just orders you to talk!"  
  
Brin laughed, and Max laughed with her, but her heart wasn't really in it. She was   
starting to look at Brin differently. Could…No, that's impossible. But there was   
something in Brin's eyes as she looked out the window at Zack. Something…  
  
Max shook her head. 'That's crazy!' she thought, angry at herself. But once it had   
started, Max couldn't get the thought out of her head. What if Zack…and Brin…  
  
Of course, Max was misunderstanding all of this. But she didn't know that. And Brin   
had no idea what she was thinking.  
  
She looked at Zack, loving her big brother fiercely for all he'd done.  
  
She turned back to Max, not recognizing the questions burning in Max's eyes.  
  
And she mistook the odd look Max was giving her, so she shrugged. Feeling a little silly   
talking about this now. "I don't know," she said. "It was nice. Zack and I, we…" They   
what? Brin thought about it. They'd become friends; not just siblings. But she felt   
weird saying that. There was a time when she'd thought Zack hadn't needed any friends.   
That he truly hadn't wanted them. How badly she'd misunderstood him. But she wasn't   
sure whether any of her other brothers and sisters had yet realized what Brin had. Max,   
out of all of them, should have. She'd spent more time with Zack than anyone besides   
Brin or Zane. And Brin hadn't seen Max since the raid until today, and so much of her   
life before then, before Manticore was still pretty jumbled in her head…but she thought   
Max knew Zack well enough to understand what she was saying. Max had to know him   
that way if those looks they were giving each other meant what Brin thought they meant.   
  
Still, Brin chose her words carefully. Not wanting to sound silly in front of her sister.   
Just in case she had misinterpreted what she thought was going on between Max and   
Zack. If Max didn't realize that Zack could be a friend, too, then she would soon enough   
on her own. If Zack cared enough about reconnecting with his brothers and sisters to let   
Zane bring them here tonight, then he must have the intention of being around a lot more.   
For all of them. Then they'd all get to know Zack better, if they didn't know him already.   
Including Max.  
  
"We became close," Brin finally finished.  
  
She had no idea how Max was going to take that comment.  
  
If she had, she probably would have laughed before setting her sister straight.  
  
But she didn't know what Max was thinking. She didn't know that Max's stomach had   
just dropped or why she'd just gone pale. Brin thought Max's sudden pallor was just in   
her imagination; a trick of the firelight.  
  
She noticed that Max had suddenly gotten awful quiet, though.  
  
So she hurried up to finish her point, shrugging again. Maybe all this "sappy" talk was   
making her uncomfortable. She knew how it had hurt Max to see her the way she was   
when they took her out of Manticore. Perhaps she didn't like being reminded of that   
time.  
  
"Anyhow," Brin said. "I guess I just never gave him the credit he deserved. There's a lot   
about him I didn't know." That was as close as she'd come to explaining the discovery   
she'd made about her brother's capacity for emotion. As she'd already decided to let the   
others find out for themselves. "Or maybe he's changed. I don't know. He does seem   
different, doesn't he?"  
  
"Different?" Max's voice was quiet.  
  
"Yeah." Then Brin remembered something. "You know, he actually mentioned   
something like that. He said he wanted to do things differently than he had before. He   
actually apologized for not being…get this… "emotionally available" before. Can you   
imagine?"  
  
Max swallowed.  
  
'…different…'  
  
Brin put her arm around her sister's shoulders, not paying any attention to how stiff   
they'd become.  
  
"And it's all because of you, sister," she said affectionately. "I couldn't have made it   
through this without Zack. I wouldn't even be out if it weren't for you and him. And   
Zack wouldn't have been there for me if you hadn't been there for him." Brin shook her   
head. "Whatever you told him must have been something. What did you do, threaten to   
kick his ass? Because I don't think he'd have been able to develop the kind of   
relationship we developed if what you said hadn't made him think about doing things   
differently."  
  
'Oh, God!'  
  
Brin had no idea what happened. One second she and Max were sitting beside one   
another, talking.   
  
And the next moment, Max was heading for the back door of the cabin. And fast.   
Without looking back.  
  
Brin watched her go, with confusion and concern.  
  
"Max?" she called. Max didn't stop. "Max!" Then her sister was gone.  
  
In the kitchen, Jace and Syl turned as Max raced out the back door, exchanging a look.  
  
Jace saw something in Syl's eyes and asked if she knew what was going on.  
  
Syl just shook her head, and went back to scrubbing a dish.  
  
This time, she scrubbed a little too hard. The plate shattered in her hands.  
  
  
  
**** ****  
  
  
  
  



	16. Chapter 16

An Emergency Change of Command, 16  
by pari106  
  
pari106@hotmail.com  
http://www.geocities.com/pari106/damain.html  
  
Disclaimer: See part 1; Code: M/Z, Logan/Syl; Zane, Krit, All; Rating: PG-13  
  
  
An Emergency Change of Command, 16  
by pari106  
  
  
Zack and Jondy were still sitting, side by side, on the front steps.  
  
"So you told her how you feel, then?" she asked.  
  
Zack didn't answer.  
  
"Zack…"  
  
Zack sighed. "Sort of."  
  
Jondy raised a brow. "Sort of?"  
  
Zack looked at her through the corner of his eyes. Then he sighed.  
  
"No."  
  
Jondy gave him a smug smile that said 'I told you you couldn't do this alone.'  
  
Zack sent her a look that said something unpleasant.  
  
Then his features softened into a smile as he thought of Max. He'd come close. He   
thought he was doing pretty good.  
  
"I'm planning to, though," he told his sister now. "Tonight."  
  
Jondy smiled back, the smugness being replaced by real hope that her sibs could find   
happiness together. It didn't bother her anymore, thinking about Max and Zack as her   
brother and sister, but still thinking about them as a couple. They were who they were.   
She was who she was. And what they were could not be confined or defined by normal   
standards. As long as Max and Zack could be happy, she'd be happy.  
  
"Good," is all she said.  
  
They didn't say anything more for a moment, just sharing a moment of silence.  
  
Then the silence was broken.  
  
Suddenly, a very harried Zane came running up to them. And he was holding little Max   
under the arms.  
  
And little Max had a decidedly bare toush.  
  
Jondy didn't know who looked more stunned…little Max. Zane. Or Zack.  
  
Okay, so she was a little stunned herself.  
  
Zane did not generally run around his cabin carrying bare-bottomed babies.  
  
"What the h…" In his stupor, Zack had completely forgotten their 'no cussing around the   
kid' rule. But a sharp slap to the back of the head from Jondy soon reminded him.  
  
"Hey! Watch i…"  
  
And whatever he was going to say next was abruptly lost, as Zane planted the scantily   
clad tot in Zack's lap.  
  
He said something, but he said it in such a breathless rush, that it all came out as though   
in one syllable.  
  
What he'd said, sounded something like:  
  
"GottatakeherCan'tstoptotalkSorry…"  
  
And then Zane just kept on running.  
  
But, as he did, he did manage to call over his shoulder:  
  
"I'm sorry! I didn't know those goddamned diapers were so fragile!"  
  
Zack and Jondy got the distinct impression that he wasn't talking to them.  
  
And then Zane was gone, and sure enough, Krit suddenly came racing from the same   
direction Zane had arrived.  
  
And he…  
  
Zack and Jondy watched, with jaws nearly dropped. In Zack's lap, little Max watched, as   
well. With a primal type yell, Krit pursued his brother. Again.  
  
"Zane!" he screamed.   
  
Then he rushed by, without even paying acknowledgement to the three people sitting on   
the porch.  
  
Silence.  
  
And then:  
  
"Uh, Zack…Krit…he smelled bad," Jondy finally said, wrinkling her nose.  
  
Zack looked down at little Max, who stared innocently back up at him.  
  
And, suddenly, he had a good idea why Zane had been running…  
  
And then he shoved little Max into Jondy's hands.  
  
"Hey!"  
  
"You have to take her," he said simply.  
  
"What? No I don't!"  
  
Then she shoved her back.  
  
"Jond…just…what am I supposed to do with her?"  
  
Jondy raised a brow. Amused, despite the predicament, by her fearless brother, who was   
so obviously thrown off by this little girl.  
  
"Exactly what you expect me to do with her, I'd say."  
  
"I don't know what to do with her!" Zack insisted.  
  
"And I do?" Jondy countered.  
  
Then a horrible thought occurred to Zack.  
  
He looked at little Max. Then he looked in the direction Zane and Krit had run. Little   
Max looked at him, then in the same direction, then back at him. And she smiled, a huge   
baby smile.  
  
Zack shot to his feet, holding the dangerously diaper-less child at arm's length.  
  
"Well, someone has to do something!" he told her, giving her a meaningful look.  
  
"What?"  
  
Then it occurred to her.  
  
Diaper. There was a reason babies wore diapers. And, undoubtedly, that was the same   
reason Krit now smelled like one.  
  
"Oh…"  
  
"Yeah, 'oh' !"  
  
"Uh…I'll get one. Just a sec!"  
  
And Jondy dashed off to the Jeep.  
  
While she did, Zack stared warily at little Max. And she stared back, face expressionless.  
  
Then she smiled.  
  
Zack shifted from foot to foot, staring in the direction in which Jondy fled. She was   
rummaging through the back of the Jeep, pulling things out in abandon.  
  
'hurry…hurry…hurry…'  
  
But eventually, Max became uncomfortable with her position, and she began to squirm.   
And when Zack looked at her, and she smiled, he finally decided 'What the heck?' She'd   
already gone, right? How many times could a baby go at once?  
  
Tentatively, he slowly pulled the child back to him, slowly easing her more comfortably   
into his arms.  
  
Okay…alright…so far so good…  
  
He stared at the child, and she stared back. She smiled, and he slowly smiled back.  
  
This wasn't so bad.   
  
"Listen, you just keep your fluids to yourself, and I'll do the same, okay?" he said. Max   
gurgled, having no idea what he said. "Got that, soldier?" he said, the command behind   
the words ruined by the baby-talk sort of way Zack said them. This was a first for Zack.   
He did not baby talk.  
  
And if little Max ever said differently there would be hell to pay.  
  
Little Max, apparently, was not intimidated.  
  
She laughed again. Then peed all over him. At just the same time as Jondy was running   
up, breathing heavily.  
  
"Here!" she said triumphantly, having finally found the elusive diaper. She waved it in   
the air.  
  
Then she took note of the situation – Zack's expression, the baby's laughter, and Zack's   
now wet shirt.  
  
Jondy put her arm down. Zack just stared at her.  
  
If she'd taken the time she'd taken to find that diaper, in battle, they would all be dead by   
now.  
  
A fate much preferable to the one he had just suffered, Zack would say.  
  
He spoke slowly, clearly, and tonelessly.  
  
"Take her. Take her now. Don't argue. Just…," Zack's eyes fluttered closed and open   
again, and he looked to the heavens as Max peed. Yet again. "Just take her," he said.  
  
So Jondy took her.  
  
Without a word, Zack walked back into the cabin to change.  
  
And Jondy burst into laughter.  
  
Then she felt something wet against her shirt.  
  
"What the…."  



	17. Chapter 17

An Emergency Change of Command, 17  
by pari106  
  
pari106@hotmail.com  
http://www.geocities.com/pari106/damain.html  
  
Disclaimer: See part 1; Code: M/Z, Logan/Syl; Zane, Krit, All; Rating: PG-13  
  
A/N: The confusion continued! Please don't hate me for torturing them, like this! But,   
really…they had it coming, you know ;)  
  
  
An Emergency Change of Command, 17  
by pari106  
  
  
Zack entered the cabin's front door just after Max exited the back. He mounted the stairs,   
two at a time, and changed into a fresh shirt in the guestroom he'd been using since he'd   
gotten there.  
  
In the kitchen, Syl pulled her bloody hand out of the dishwater with a hiss.  
  
"Ow! Shi…"  
  
She pulled the hand to her, grabbing the deep cut that had developed in her right palm   
when that plate broke in her hands.  
  
Jace looked at her.  
  
"Dios mio…what the hell did you do?" she asked, noticing the blood with alarm.  
  
She grabbed a towel and wrapped it around Syl's hand.  
  
"I broke a plate."  
  
"Yeah, I noticed. Am I the only X5 who can touch a dish without killing it?"  
  
Syl rolled her eyes, but then she hissed again at the cut. It would heal soon, of course.   
But in her mood, this was the last thing she'd needed tonight.  
  
"Damn it!" she cussed, wrapping the towel even tighter around her fist.  
  
Jace watched her quietly. Then she grabbed her by the arm.  
  
"Let's go," she said.  
  
Syl opened her mouth to speak, but Jace stopped her with look.  
  
"We're going to the bathroom to clean you up. You are going to tell me what is wrong   
with you. And I can go back to being the mother of one little girl, instead of two."  
  
Syl stuck her tongue out at her and Jace rolled her eyes.  
  
  
  
**** ****  
  
  
  
Zack was just coming down the stairs as Jace and Syl were finishing up in the bathroom,   
cleaning Syl's cut and bandaging her hand. His mood was beginning to improve. He   
even smiled.  
  
He'd seen Max heading for the lake through the guest room window. And he planned to   
join her. He'd been waiting to be alone with her again all night, to tell her what he'd   
been waiting to tell her for too long.  
  
He'd even gained a lighter perspective on the little Max incident. So the kid peed on   
him. He'd live. She was his niece. It was almost funny, if he thought hard enough about   
it. Zack could almost laugh.  
  
He wouldn't be holding the kid again for the next, say, six or seven…years. But he could   
almost laugh about it.  
  
Then Zack reached the foot of the stairs, and for some reason, the voices coming from the   
bathroom just right of the kitchen, underneath the stair well, made him stop and listen. It   
was Syl and Jace.  
  
"What is wrong with you?"  
  
"Nothing's wrong with me."  
  
Jace gave her a look.  
  
Finally, Syl sighed.  
  
"Okay…"  
  
How could she explain this? She didn't want to think badly of her sister. She loved Max.   
She wanted her to be happy. But she loved Zack, too. And as for Logan… She was far   
from being in a position to view this situation non-objectively.   
  
"You know how Zane brought us all here because of Max…and Zack?"  
  
Jace smiled, leaning against the counter behind her.  
  
"Yeah." She'd been surprised, at first, when she'd heard. But not displeased. She'd   
known love before. With little Max's father, Victor. She was happy that her brother and   
her sister could find the same with each other. Earlier, Syl had asked her if she minded   
the others stealing little Max away from her for the way.  
  
"Doesn't it bother you? You've barely gotten near her since y'all got here without   
someone taking her away to play," Syl had said.  
  
And Jace had shrugged, uncomfortably.  
  
She loved her child. Her Maxita. Max was her life; her reason for living. From the first   
moment she felt her child move within her, Jace became a different woman. A woman   
whose utmost priority was her beloved daughter. But she was also a single mother. A   
woman who'd lost the one man she'd loved. The only man she'd ever been with. And   
she was confronted with that loss every time she looked at her child. Every time she   
looked at little Max, she saw Victor. And now, being here, seeing Max and Zack find   
what she and Victor had found and lost… Jace felt badly, but it was nice to step away   
from her parenting duties for a while. To simply be with her others siblings and not be   
constantly assaulted by memories of her love. Even though the love she'd shared with   
Victor was one of her most prized memories. Even though Max was the prized part of   
her life.  
  
It was good to simply watch someone else, someone else she loved, deal with the   
complexities of love.  
  
"It seems to have worked," Jace said now.  
  
Syl looked away. "Yeah…"  
  
Then she met her sister's eyes once again.  
  
"But, Jace…Max…she's…"  
  
Jace waited.  
  
"What?"  
  
Syl shook her head.  
  
"She what, Syl?"  
  
Syl took a breath. Here goes.  
  
"She's living with Logan."  
  
Silence.  
  
"Logan Cale?" Jace had met the man briefly. Good-looking, the silent type. He hadn't   
liked her then. At all. Not that she blamed him. When they'd met, she'd still been in   
Manticore, and she'd been assigned to kill a doctor who'd been helping Logan regain his   
ability to walk. He'd had this really cool, confident air about him that had somehow   
reminded her of her brother Zack, back when they were children. And she'd detected   
some sort of…something going on between him and Max. But now that Max was   
here…from what she understood was going on between her and Zack…  
  
Jace shook her head.  
  
"That can't be right."  
  
Syl shook her head, too. But it was true.  
  
"Max told me herself, Jace."  
  
Syl's fist flexed over her wound, just thinking about it. Everything was so fucked up.   
What was she supposed to do? Just sit back and let Max play both men? What else   
could she do? She still couldn't believe that was what was happening, but she'd seen   
Max out on the porch, in Zack's arms. Just as she'd seen Max in Logan's arms when she   
and Krit had gone to get her from Seattle. Krit had told her Max had said she loved Zack   
on the night of the raid. But before they left Seattle yesterday, she'd said the same to   
Logan. What was she doing?  
  
And what was she planning to do? She couldn't be with both men indefinitely. And   
when Zack found out about Logan it would hurt him. Bad. If Logan found out Max was   
here making out with Zack, it would kill him.  
  
"I just can't believe she'd do this to Zack," Syl said. She just couldn't believe it.  
  
Neither was Jace. She was frowning.   
  
"But Krit said…"  
  
"Well, Krit doesn't know what he…"  
  
Suddenly Syl's words were interrupted by the deafening sound of Zane's back door   
slamming shut. Slamming shut hard enough to splinter a piece of the doorframe.  
  
"What the hell was that?"  
  
That was Zack on his way out to the lake. And Max.  
  
  
  
**** ****  
  
  
Brin was still in the living room when Max left and Zack ran up the stairs. She went out   
on the porch, hoping to follow Max around the cabin and see why she'd rushed out so   
quickly.  
  
She spotted Jondy by the Jeep, trying to wrestle little Max into a diaper.  
  
And she hadn't taken one step in any direction before, suddenly, Zane came running up   
to her side. He grabbed her by the arm and drug her to his truck.  
  
"What are you doing?"  
  
"We're going for a ride," Zane told her, looking about him with concern.  
  
"What? Why…"  
  
Zane pushed her in through the driver side.  
  
"Because Krit won't shoot out the tires if you're in here with me."  
  
Zane jumped in, revved the engine, and they took off.  
  
Brin sighed. She'd have to find Max later.  
  
In the rearview mirror, she saw Krit come running up, rifle in hand. As he saw her and   
Zane drive off, he lowered his weapon.  
  
"Damn it!" he cussed. Then he sighed. And hobbled back to the cabin. If Zane hadn't   
broken his kneecap, he would have had him by now.  
  
But it was just as well.  
  
He really needed a bath.  
  
He could vandalize his brother's truck when he and Brin came back.  



	18. Chapter 18

An Emergency Change of Command, 18  
by pari106  
  
pari106@hotmail.com  
http://www.geocities.com/pari106/damain.html  
  
Disclaimer: See part 1; Code: M/Z, Logan/Syl; Zane, Krit, All; Rating: PG-13  
  
A/N: Yea, Gods, an update! ? See…I told you I hadn't forgotten about this. I found   
that sorting out the tangled web I wove for Max and Zack was a lot more fun, and a lot   
easier, to tangle than to untangle! But I finally did something with it. Hold tight…one   
more chapter to go! Thanks for stickin' around! And please review!   
  
A/A/N: Eternal thanks to afan for betaing this :)  
  
  
An Emergency Change of Command, 18  
by pari106  
  
After Zack stormed out of the cabin he headed for the lake, not really realizing it. He was just walking. Walking away. Trying to put some distance between   
himself and the conversation he'd overheard between Jace and Syl.  
  
Distance wasn't doing the trick. He just kept hearing the same words repeat over and over again   
in his mind.  
  
"Max is living with Logan…she told me herself…"  
  
What the hell?  
  
What the hell was going on? Max living with Logan? Zack felt like he'd fallen asleep in the middle of one of those stupid spy movies Jondy liked so much and had woken up at the very end. What the hell was Max doing?  
  
What the hell was Zack going to do?  
  
Zack's fists clenched and unclenched. His heart raced.  
  
Hell, his eyes stung.  
  
And that pissed him off.  
  
"Max is living with Logan…she told me herself…"  
  
But she'd also told Zack that she loved him. She hadn't denied it when he'd told her that   
he'd heard.  
  
And when she'd kissed him, in front of the lake, on the porch…she hadn't kissed him like   
she was used to kissing someone else. She hadn't kissed him like she was thinking of   
someone else. She hadn't held back as though she were thinking of someone else. Of   
Logan.  
  
And when Max had first approached Zack, by the lake, she'd been worried about him; relieved to see him alright, just like Krit or Syl. But it hadn't been just worry or relief that had made Max look at him the way she had.   
  
So what had made her decide to move in with Logan while they were apart? Second thoughts before the third thoughts she'd obviously had before coming to Zane's cabin? Loneliness; uncertainty? Love? Heated looks and confessions of Love aside, Zack didn't know how Logan fit into the situation where Max's feelings were concerned. So he didn't know what the hell to think about it.  
  
Then he realized he was walking towards the lake, and thought 'Good.' Max was there. He would ask her his questions and get this shit figured out.  
  
But then he saw her.  
  
She was sitting by the lake, at the end of the pier where she'd found him earlier, and she…  
  
Was she crying?  
  
  
  
**** ****  
  
  
  
Max sat by the lake, just staring at the water.  
  
Her conversation with Brin kept running through her mind.  
  
It couldn't be true. Now that Max thought about it, she just couldn't believe it was true.  
  
That Zack and Brin…  
  
Max took a shaky breath, then laughed at herself.  
  
Jeez, she was turning into a basketcase.  
  
She had to have misunderstood.  
  
There's no way Zack and Brin…  
  
But then, Zack hadn't actually said anything about wanting to be with her. He'd talked   
about mistakes, differences. He'd said he loved her. But what if she'd misinterpreted which kind of love he was talking about? Then Max shook her head. Even in the midst of this emotional breakdown, she felt a thrill at the thought of their kisses earlier. There was no way she'd misinterpreted those.  
  
What had she been thinking?  
  
Except that Zack had left with Brin. And he'd spent all this time with her.   
  
"…I don't think he'd have been able to develop the kind of   
relationship we developed if what you said hadn't made him think about doing things   
differently."  
  
Max tried to shake off the odd thoughts.  
  
"Hey."  
  
The soft word spoken was so unexpected that it startled Max. And she looked up, her   
heart leaping into her throat when she saw that it was Zack standing beside her.  
  
"Zack…"  
  
He sat down by her.  
  
"Max."  
  
It was funny, Max had waited to be alone with Zack all night. But now that she was the   
atmosphere was decidedly different than she'd expected. She wondered if all the tension   
that had surrounded them was coming from just her. Or had something happened?  
  
They just sat there a moment.  
  
"So…" they then said, simultaneously.  
  
They both had something to bring up, but neither knew how. Finally, Max shot with:  
  
"Why didn't you tell me you left Seattle with Brin?"  
  
Zack blinked. He wasn't sure if he was really expecting her to ask him anything. From   
his point of view, he was the one with the questions. But this one threw him off.  
  
"I…guess I didn't get the chance."  
  
Max nodded. She would have said something more, but Zack beat her to it.  
  
"Why didn't you tell me you were living with Logan?"  
  
Zack tried to make the question sound non-accusational, but by the widening of Max's   
eyes he wasn't sure that he had.  
  
Max blinked in surprise.  
  
"How did you find out?"  
  
"Syl," Zack said easily. It was close enough to the truth.  
  
Syl.  
  
Max relaxed. Syl had told Zack. Max felt selfishly relieved to have the burden taken off   
of her own shoulders. She hadn't known how to bring the subject up to him. But now Syl had taken care of all that for her. Max would have to remind herself to give Syl her undying appreciation.  
  
But wait...  
  
When Max would have spoken, Zack continued. "Syl said things were...different between you two, after the raid on Manticore." Which was an understatement. Things were very different. Max and Logan's relationship had gone from a badly kept secret, apparently, to a verified fact.   
  
Zack watched Max's face fill with relief that her secret was out, and his jaw tightened. Without Max right there in front of him, Zack had been able to convince himself that anger was what   
he'd been feeling the most since he learned about Logan. But now, Max did what she   
always did to Zack – she stripped all the illusions away. It was hard for Zack to admit,   
but it *hurt*. Knowing Max had been with Logan *hurt*. He was absolutely certain   
there was no physiological basis for his pain, but it was there all the same. And as Zack watched Max, he looked at her like she held all the answers. To him, she did. She would ultimately decide where they went from here, and that   
was the only question Zack cared about at the moment.  
  
Then Max started to speak.  
  
"I'm sorry, Zack," she told him. She knew how he felt about having things kept from   
him, regardless of the fact that he kept things from others all the time. It was something   
they'd have to work on. But not right now. "I should have told you. Me and Logan…"  
  
"It doesn't matter," Zack suddenly said, cutting Max off.  
  
"Zack…"  
  
Zack took her hand. "What's happened in the past, Maxie, happened. But I'm not going   
to let it interfere with our future." He captured her eyes with his. His future with Max was what mattered.  
  
"I love you, Max."  
  
Finally, those words again.  
  
For two people who had never heard those three words enough, being able to hear and   
say them now was unbelievable.  
  
"I love you, too, Zack."  
  
Zack pulled her into his arms and their lips met. That was all he'd been looking for. All   
he'd hoped for ever since that night of the raid had been given to him with Max's   
affirmation.   
  
"I know it'll be hard, breaking off the relationship…" he told her, feeling the softness of   
her hair with the side of his cheek.   
  
Max was enjoying the feeling, as well. So much so, that she didn't hear his words right   
away. Then she did.  
  
"What do you mean?" she asked, pulling back so she could look up at him.  
  
What relationship? Did he expect her to break off her friendship with Logan?  
  
"I'm sorry if someone has to get hurt…," Zack was saying. He really was. He didn't   
really have anything against Logan. But it was either him or Zack. "I'm sorry I ran. That I didn't stick around after the   
night you told me you loved me, to work things out. If I had there wouldn't have been   
anyone else between us."  
  
Max froze. 'Anyone else between' them? A sudden realization occurred to her.  
  
'Oh, God, he's not talking about Logan.'  
  
"And now?" Max asked, pulling back a little. Zack sensed her tensing and tensed in   
response. What had he said?  
  
"What do you mean?" he asked, the way she had moments before.  
  
"And now that someone has, what's next for us? And…them?"  
  
Max frowned, trying to take everything in. She felt like she'd suddenly woken up from a   
long dream to find she wasn't in the same place as she'd been when she'd dozed off…   
Which was a pretty good analogy, she decided. Since she'd thought that having Zack   
confess his love for her had seemed too good to be true… Had she been right in the first place? Was Zack with Brin. All this   
time she'd thought they were going somewhere with the things they'd admitted to one   
another this night; she'd thought they had a future together. And all this time he'd been   
with Brin. Would still be with Brin tomorrow, and the day after, from the way Brin had   
talked. It couldn't be over between him and her. Or if it was Brin certainly   
didn't seem to know it.   
  
Meanwhile, Zack let his gaze wonder over Max's shoulder to the scenery beyond. The   
treetops and the sky… Some would call it peaceful. He realized that's what Max was to   
him; his one chance at peace. And the questions didn't bother him anymore. Because even though he didn't know all the answers, he   
knew the most important one. The answer to what he really wanted. What he really   
wanted was Max.  
  
Zack turned back to Max and found her watching him. He reached up and touched her   
face…  
  
"When I told you I loved you, Max, and that I wanted to be with you… I meant it. Did   
you?" he asked.  
  
Max replied with certainty. "You know I did."  
  
Zack smiled. "Then that's all I care about. *You're* all I care about."  
  
And that's how Zack found himself in the lake for the second time that day. 


	19. Chapter 19

An Emergency Change of Command: Chapter Nineteen  
by pari106  
  
Disclaimer, etc, found in chapter one.  
  
  
  
"What the hell was that for?"  
  
Zack came up out of the water sputtering…for a moment. Zack, as a rule, did nothing quite so   
ungraceful as sputter for any longer than he could help it.   
  
Meanwhile, Max stood on dry land with her hands on her hips and an evil glint in her eyes.   
Trying her best to keep her temper under control.  
  
Even with her own feelings aside, this was Brin they were talking about; her sister. After all   
Brin had gone through, how could Zack treat her like this? How could he treat anyone like this?   
Mess around behind someone's back; talk about them like they weren't even important. She   
would have expected so much better from Zack. It was unreal.  
  
"What do you think that was for?" Max told him. "That was for Brin!"  
  
"What?"  
  
Zack stomped out of the lake, trying his best to keep his temper under control  
  
"After all she's been through, you're just gonna lead her on and them dump her like that?" Max   
asked, incredulously. She gave Zack a look of disgust. "I would have expected better from you,   
Zack. How could you do that to her? And to me?"   
  
"What? Wait a minute, what are you…hey!"  
  
Zack ducked just as Max tried to send him back into the lake with a right hook, then grabbed her   
arm as she tried again with a left.  
  
"Max, will you just wait a minute! What the hell are you talking a…Damn it, Max!"   
  
Finally, Zack realized Max could not be reasoned with using words… So he thought that   
perhaps water might be a more successful tool. So he scooped Max up in his arms and turned   
towards the lake.  
  
Max immediately went still.  
  
"Zack! Don't you dare…"  
  
Then he tossed her in.  
  
She came up with a yell.  
  
"Zack!"  
  
"Now will you tell me what the hell you're talking about?!" Zack asked, finally able to get a full   
sentence in.  
  
Max glared, pushing wet strands of hair out of her eyes. The dunking seemed to have done her   
mood, however, because her anger had abated somewhat. Or perhaps it was just that she was   
exhausted and couldn't rant and swim at the same time. But either way, she sighed.  
  
"I'm talking about you and Brin, Zack…I know you're together," she confessed.  
  
Silence followed. During which Zack simply stared at Max. And then…  
  
Max wasn't sure what she'd expected him to do next. But laugh wasn't it.  
  
Still, Zack laughed, as Max looked on with confusion. Then he sobered, shaking his head as he   
lowered into a crouch next to the lake.  
  
"Max…where did you get an idea like that?" he asked.  
  
'Okay…'  
  
"If you weren't talking about you and Brin, then who were you talking about just now?" Max   
asked instead of giving an answer herself.  
  
"I was talking about you and Logan." Zack told her, and he shook his head. "After the mission   
to take down Manticore…" Zack squirmed, uncomfortable using the word "friend", but doing so   
anyhow, "…we became friends, too. What made you think we were 'together'?"   
  
Realization hit Max like a humvee. And her earlier doubts, along with Brin's words by the   
fireplace, came with it.  
  
'…the relationship we developed…' Brin had talked about her relationship with Zack. Her   
"friendly* relationship? Is that what she'd been saying, after all – that she and Zack had become   
friends? But then why…  
  
"What made you think me and Logan were together?" Max asked suddenly. So Zack had been   
referring to her and Logan… He thought she and Logan were together. None of this made   
sense, but Max was starting to think how it might.  
  
Meanwhile Zack looked surprised at Max's question. "Syl said you were living with him now,"   
Zack replied finally, tense. He continued trying to act nonchalant as he said this, although the   
very concept of Max and Logan living in the same place made his fingers itch to strangle   
something.   
  
'At ease, soldier,' he mentally commanded himself.  
  
Max frowned and shook her head, drawing nearer to where Zack was. "Is that all Syl said?"   
  
"Uh…" Zack squirmed again. "More or less," he told her. He'd been tossed in the lake twice   
today by a woman a full head shorter than himself. And he'd been accused of dating someone he   
considered his own little sister. *And* he'd been peed on. Repeatedly. That was enough   
humiliation for one night – the thought of confessing that he'd been eavesdropping, and as a   
soldier that he was guilty of flawed reconnaissance, as well, did not appeal at the moment.   
  
"But Syl knows Logan and I are just friends…" Max saw the disbelieving look on Zack's face   
and reached up to take his hands in hers. She held onto him, and he looked down to where their   
fingers were linked. "We are just friends, Zack," she told him, drawing his eyes back to her   
own. The heated look that suddenly passed between them filled the air with a chemistry that had   
become muted during all the misunderstandings that had occurred throughout the night. Now the   
misunderstandings were being swept away and there was nothing muted about the signals Max   
and Zack were sending one another – they were loud and clear.  
  
But Max drew back, shaking her head. "Why would Syl tell you…"  
  
Then it occurred to her.  
  
It wasn't so unbelievable that Syl would tell Zack she and Logan were together… Come to think   
about it, Max realized she'd never told Syl that she and Logan weren't together. She'd just   
assumed that it was understood. She'd told Krit… But, then, that didn't mean much. Especially   
if Krit had decided to nettle Syl for developing a "crush" on Logan by keeping the information   
from her. Considering the way she…  
  
"Oh, Syl's gotta be pissed at me," Max suddenly mused aloud.  
  
Zack frowned in confusion. "What?"  
  
Max grinned, shaking her head. "She doesn't know about me and Logan. And she's crazy about   
him."  
  
"She's *what*?"  
  
Zack looked so floored Max had to laugh.  
  
Syl was crazy about *Logan*? The same Logan Max had risked death and reindoctrination for   
on various occasions?   
  
That made two sisters in the last year to succumb to the Logan Cale charm. Whatever that was.  
  
"What the hell do you all see in him?" Zack asked with comical incredulity.  
  
"Hey!"  
  
With one quick movement, Max grabbed Zack by his ankles and pulled him off the pier and into   
the water with herself. And she laughed as she did.  
  
"Be nice!" she warned.   
  
Zack shook his head, and slicked his hair back out of his eyes.  
  
"Nice? This from the woman who's tried to drown me three times today?" he muttered. Then   
he grabbed Max before she knew what he was about to do, quickly dunking her.  
  
This time Max came up laughing, but with a gleam in her eye that promised payback.   
  
"What the…"  
  
But before she could make good on that threat, Zack grabbed her again, his hands on her hips,   
and turned, pressing her back against one of the posts on the pier nearby. And then he kissed   
her.  
  
Max linked her legs around Zack's waist, and her arms around the post behind her, keeping them   
both from going under. And she kissed Zack back with everything she had.  
  
When Zack pulled back – to let them both breathe – she slowly smiled. And he smiled back.   
Passion, but also tenderness, radiating between them.  
  
"What I'm wondering is what I see in you," Max teased in a soft voice.  
  
Zack's smile grew, then faded away, as a gleam entered his eyes that promised payback, as well.   
But of a totally different kind than the one Max had had in mind earlier.  
  
"Maybe I can help you out with that," he told her, in a voice turned low and suggestive.  
  
Max laughed before Zack captured her lips with his own yet again.  
  
'I'm sure you can,' she thought happily. 


	20. Chapter 20

Author's Note: Okay, kiddos, this is it… Last chapter :) It's been fun. And thanks for   
sticking around for the end of this (I knew it took me too long). Your positive feedback   
has really meant a lot. Now before I get all misty-eyed ;) … Let me also say, that I heard   
the disturbing news about DA's future. And when I haven't been busy ranting about   
FOX and planning to boycott any new show it plans to put in DA's place, I've been   
vowing not to let a little thing like there not being a show anymore :p to interfere with my   
interest in the fandom. I still plan to write DA fanfic…and I hope you all will still   
continue to read.   
  
A/A/N: Oh…and as you may have guessed, I decided not to go with the Syl/Logan   
storyline I had originally planned for this story. Just couldn't find anywhere to fit it in.   
But don't worry, they'll be back in a sequel :) As will the other X5s. I actually have   
quite a few ideas for them. Just make sure you review so I know whether or not to bother   
:P   
  
Yet A/A/N: Thanks for betaing this Kiki! :)  
  
**** ****  
  
  
An Emergency Change of Command, Chapter 20  
by pari106  
  
[Disclaimer, etc, found in chapter one.]  
  
  
Jondy had just left little Max, fully diapered, with her mother when Krit stormed through   
the front door, complete with a sad little puppy-dog look on his face.   
  
Krit was the only X5 male who could ever successfully pull off the sad little puppy-dog   
look.   
  
Jondy smiled. "Let me guess…he with the super-fast reflexes has just been thwarted, in   
his quest for revenge, by he with the slightly faster super-fast reflexes." At the dark   
look thrown her way, Jondy only smiled more brightly.   
  
And Krit sighed, standing his rifle up by the door. "Zane cheats," he whined, hobbling   
into the kitchen. Jondy eyed the weapon, bit her lip, and followed. "Uh…yeah."  
  
Then she became more serious, however. "Come on, Krit, let it go. I bet you can't even   
remember why you were mad at him in the first place," she said.  
  
But Krit gave her a look, and didn't respond, although (if possible) he scowled even   
more. Then he pulled his t-shirt off, wadding it into a ball, and tossing it into the trash.   
Jondy got an eyeful of perfectly tanned, perfectly toned, upper torso before the stench of   
the discarded shirt hit her, taking her mind off her eyes and onto her nose. Which   
scrunched in displeasure.  
  
"Oh, I remember," Krit deadpanned.  
  
Then he hobbled towards the stairway and the upstairs bathroom. Those stairs were   
gonna be a bitch. Krit grimaced.  
  
"I need a shower," he said.  
  
Jondy couldn't argue with that. And she realized that it was perverse, taking so much   
pleasure in what she said next…  
  
But she took pleasure in it anyhow.  
  
"Oh, you might want to hold off on that," she told Krit. "I think Jace is giving Max a   
bath. But I'm sure she wouldn't mind if you helped…"  
  
Oh, what fun.  
  
But then a look of such horror crossed Krit's face (at the mention of little Max) that   
Jondy took pity on the poor soul.  
  
Her grin widened yet again.  
  
Then she grabbed his arm and threw it over her shoulders, helping Krit towards the door.  
  
"Come on, you can bathe in the lake out back."  
  
"Thanks, sis."  
  
  
  
**** ****  
  
  
  
"So that's the little secret everybody's been keeping."  
  
Brin turned the thought over in her head a few times… And decided that she liked it.  
  
Then she smiled. "Zack and Max…wow."  
  
"Are you okay with that?" Zane asked.  
  
He hadn't been sure how everyone would react to the idea when he first presented it. Not   
that it would change his own mind if anyone disapproved. So far no one did. Syl didn't   
seem too happy about it… And Zane had to wonder why. But other than that, everyone   
seemed good to go with his plan to get Max and Zack together. Now they only had to put   
that plan into action. A few hints here…a little sisterly and/or brotherly advice there…   
And then a sudden, surprise trip into town for everyone but the couple in question,   
leaving them alone in the cabin, with only a bottle of wine, the fireplace, and a view of   
the sunset for company. Perfect.  
  
If only Krit would stop being an ass and let Zane do his job.  
  
Brin spoke, bringing Zane out of his thoughts.  
  
"Of course not. I think it's awesome! Who'd have thought, huh?"  
  
Zane threw a grin over his shoulder. "Yeah."  
  
"But do we really have to creep in through the woods like this?" he heard Brin ask.  
  
Zane pushed through some brush, holding back some limbs so that Brin could crawl   
through as he followed.  
  
"You can never tell how long it'll take for Krit to cool off once he's really pissed," Zane   
explained. "And he won't be expecting us this way."  
  
Zane caught Brin shaking her head. "You babies," she scorned.  
  
"Hey…the walk will do us good, anyhow," he insisted. "What better way to catch up   
than by taking a nice stroll through the countryside."  
  
Zane's excuse was punctuated by the sound of his boot coming down on an unpleasant-  
looking snake's head, just as it was about to strike.  
  
A "nice stroll through the countryside" indeed.  
  
Brin rolled her eyes.  
  
  
  
**** ****  
  
  
  
  
"We're almost there," Zane, taking the lead once again, told Brin. He'd left his truck on   
a narrow dirt road only he knew about, about a click west of the cabin. The path he and   
Brin had chosen to take home ended behind the cabin, slightly before and to the   
side of the lake.   
  
"How do you know?" Brin teased. "Do you make a habit of crawling around in   
the…Zane, watch out!"  
  
But his sister's warning came too late, and Zane cleared the woods…running straight into   
Krit.  
  
Krit smiled. "Did you misplace your truck, Zane?" he asked, clamping a hand down on   
his brother's shoulder.  
  
Zane swallowed. "Krit…uh…" He saw Brin, peripherally, come out of the woods   
behind him, and thought quickly. Then he smiled, as well.  
  
"Actually, Brin and I were just looking for Flu…"  
  
But he hadn't thought quickly enough.  
  
There, standing behind Krit, was Jondy. And Fluffy. Wagging happily, damn it.   
(Fluffy…not Jondy). Jondy was smiling like the cat that ate the canary. Or that was   
watching the canary about to be eaten, rather.  
  
'Traitors,' Zane thought grumpily, for not the first time.  
  
"You mean this Fluffy," Krit asked, motioning to the dog with a raised eyebrow.  
  
Then all hell began to break loose.  
  
Zane, Krit, and Jondy all spoke at once.  
  
"You and I have some unfinished bu…"  
  
"Listen, man, I really didn't mean to…"  
  
"Oh, come on, Krit let it…"  
  
And all three stopped speaking at once, as Brin suddenly cried out behind them.  
  
"Oh…my…God," she said. Which made the other X5s stop, turn, and stare in the same   
direction as she was. For a moment…they all just blinked. And then:  
  
Jondy's hands flew over her mouth as she grinned.  
  
Zane flinched, looking suddenly away. "My eyes!" he exclaimed.  
  
And Krit's jaw dropped. "Is that…"   
  
Jondy laughed, shaking her head in disbelief even as she confirmed what they were   
seeing as true. "Yep."  
  
"Are they…"  
  
"Oh, yeah. Definitely."  
  
Then they and Brin all burst into laughter.  
  
Zane, still facing the other direction, shook his head and grinned a wide grin. "And to   
think, we didn't even have to do anything," he wondered aloud.  
  
"Thank the Blue Lady for that," Jondy mumbled, taking her eyes off of her brother and   
sister's… "activities" …to kneel down and pat Fluffy. She threw a look at Brin and the   
men, then turned to head back for the cabin, leaving Max and Zack in relative privacy.  
  
Krit slapped Zane on the back, companionably, and Zane glanced at him in surprise.  
  
"Good job, bro," Krit said with a laugh.  
  
"Does that mean we're okay now?" Zane asked.  
  
Krit threw an arm over his shoulder and shrugged. "Eh…" Then he fingered something   
in his pocket. Zane suddenly jumped as something, something just loud enough for an   
X5 to hear at their distance, went "boom".   
  
"Now we're okay," Krit informed him merrily.  
  
"You blew up my truck!" Zane exclaimed.  
  
Brin's eyes widened and her jaw dropped. She looked at Krit. "You blew up his truck?"  
  
"Nah…" Krit's eyes gleamed. "Just half of it." The cab of the truck was probably still   
intact. Not that he'd ever intended, when he'd put that explosive on there – before going   
after his rifle – of detonating it while anyone was nearby. But just to have been safe…   
  
Then Krit noticed there was something not *quite* right about Zane's reaction to his   
mischief.   
  
He didn't look mad.  
  
Well, yeah, there for a moment he had. But now… Zane and Brin exchanged a look.   
And Krit got a bad feeling about that look.  
  
"What?" he asked.  
  
Zane bit his lip. 'Oh, boy…' "Well, remember how I told all you guys you could leave   
your bedrolls in the back of my trunk until I cleaned a space out in the upstairs closet?"   
he asked in response. 'Remember how I was supposed to take those bedrolls out…but   
didn't,' remained unspoken but understood.  
  
There was silence. During which Krit blinked.  
  
And then...  
  
"Zane!" he yelled, eyes angry yet again.  
  
But before Krit could do anything, Brin swooped in to Zane's rescue once more.  
  
"Zane, go!" she ordered, and Zane didn't have to be told twice. He took off for the cabin.  
  
Meanwhile, Brin grabbed Krit by the arm when he would have taken pursuit. She turned   
him to face her.  
  
"Brin, stay out of…"  
  
But Krit never finished his sentence. Because Brin, at a loss at how to stall him, did the   
only thing – under the circumstances – that she could think to do. Inspired by Max and   
Zack, she reached up, grabbed Krit by the head…and kissed him.   
  
When they pulled apart, there was absolute silence.  
  
Krit was, in a word, stunned. He actually stuttered.  
  
"Uh…I…what…"  
  
But Brin, if possible, was even more stunned than he was. And, wide-eyed, she stood   
there for just a moment. And then she bolted, like a nervous squirrel hot on the trail of   
one huge acorn.  
  
Krit just stood there, floored.  
  
And, finally, he touched his lips as if he didn't know what had hit him.  
  
  
  
**** ****  
  
  
  
Max stood by her bike, strapping down her gear. What little of it there was left, anyhow.   
Inside the cabin, her brothers and sisters were having one last breakfast together, ready to   
head back home, wherever home was for each of them. U  
  
Max had already said her good-byes to everyone. Or mostly everyone. But she had one   
last thing to do first.  
  
Walking up the porch, she met Zack as he was coming out the front door.   
  
"You about to head out?" he asked, placing his hands on her hips. Max leaned into him   
and wrapped her arms around his neck. She smiled.  
  
"Yeah. I won't be long."  
  
Zack nodded. Then he grinned.  
  
"I'd tell you to tell him hello for me…"  
  
Max rolled her eyes. "But you don't wanna ruin that tough guy image of yours, huh?"   
she teased.  
  
"What very little of it I have left."  
  
Zack looked back over his shoulder. Krit, Jondy, and Jace were sitting on the couch in   
front of the window directly behind Max and Zack. They were each sitting suspiciously   
still, eyes forward. As if they hadn't been spying on their brother and sister. The only   
other person on the couch, and the only one who didn't know better than to cover up for   
said spying, was little Max. Jace had her over her shoulder, and Max pressed her baby   
face against the windowpane. When she saw Zack and her Aunt Max looking at her, she   
giggled happily and babbled loudly.   
  
Max, and even Zack, laughed.   
  
"I've lost all authority," Zack moaned, with such a serious and somber expressed that   
Max laughed all the more.  
  
"That's because you gave it all to Zane," Max played.  
  
"Yeah, I'll have to do something about that."  
  
Max kissed Zack to take a little bit of his scowl away, and was successful.  
  
"Be right back," she promised.   
  
The look on Zack's face, as they parted, was all the motivation Max needed to hurry.   
Even if they did have an audience during the kiss. Which was all too reminiscent of the   
fiasco with the lake. Max was still just as mortified as she'd been the moment she   
learned that Zane, Brin, Jondy, and Krit had caught her and Zack out there.   
  
"Zane!" Max heard Zack calling as he re-entered the cabin and she reached her bike. She   
smiled.  
  
  
  
**** ****  
  
  
  
He picked up on the third ring.  
  
And Max, using the phone that Krit had used days ago to call Zane, and that Zane had   
used days before that to call Krit, heard Logan's "Yeah" with a grin.  
  
"Miss me?" she asked.  
  
On the other end of the line, Logan stilled, having been in the middle of shuffling through   
the file in his hands. He was standing in his computer room.  
  
"Max?"  
  
"Were you expecting someone else?"  
  
Max's upbeat mood was apparent, even over the phone, and Logan felt as though a   
weight had lifted – one he hadn't even realized had been on his shoulders, though he had   
been worried about Max. It had been days, after all, since she, Krit, and Syl had left for   
Zane's, looking miserable.  
  
"I wasn't expecting you," he said. "But I'm glad you called. I take it everything's   
okay?"  
  
"Copesetic," Max replied.   
  
"And Zack?"  
  
Max grinned. And her answer made Logan grin, as well. "We're just fine."  
  
*We're just fine*. Not 'Zack is just fine.' The message, subtle as it was, was clear.  
  
'Well, what do you know?' Logan thought. He was happy for Max, but his smile was just the slightest bit wistful.  
  
"Except for one thing," Max suddenly continued.   
  
"Oh?"  
  
"There's just this one little problem…think you could help out?"  
  
Logan's affirmative came immediately. "Of course," he said.  
  
Max's grin widened.   
  
"It's about Syl…"  
  
  
  
**** ****  
  
  
  
When Krit heard the sound of Max's motorcycle fade in the distance, and when he grew   
tired of watching Zack act…well, like Zack, trying to regain a little bit of the authority he   
thought he had lost, getting caught…well, the way he and Max had been caught…Krit   
went looking for Syl.  
  
She was by the lake.  
  
'Clever,' Krit thought. 'An all-purpose lake…serving all your X5 needs. Reflection,   
reproduction…' Krit smirked. He'd add swimming to the list, but as much as he loved   
Big Brother Zack and Maxie… He didn't feel that he shared *that* much love with   
them. A lake's a lake, he realized, but this lake had been the setting of their very un-lake-  
like activity and, to just come out and say it, it creeped the hell out of him.   
  
Luckily, he hadn't come out to the lake to swim. He'd come out, ironically, to be a creep   
to Syl. Which, sadly enough, was the only way he knew to comfort her. He'd be a creep,   
she'd beat him a little…and thereby he'd provide much needed therapy to his beloved   
sister.   
  
It wasn't the perfect solution to what was going on in Syl's head. But it was something.   
And Krit had to do something. He hated seeing Syl sad and felt just the slightest bit   
guilty for it also.  
  
"Fascinating, isn't it?" Krit asked, as if in awe, dropping down beside her in the grass.   
He stared out over the lake with a rapt expression, and Syl turned to look at him.  
  
"What is?" she asked, frowning.  
  
Krit didn't move, and his expression didn't change, but he shook his head slowly. "I   
have no idea. But whatever it is, *you* seem fascinated by it," he said softly. Then he   
grinned slowly…and winked at her.  
  
Syl rolled her eyes and punched Krit in the shoulder. But she did smile.  
  
And all thoughts of general mischief Krit had had in mind before disappeared.  
  
Maybe the be-a-creep plan wasn't such a good idea after all. Krit had just realized how   
long it had been since he'd seen Syl smile. Really smile.  
  
"How're you doing?" he asked suddenly.  
  
Syl looked at him peculiarly. "How am I?" Was this Krit she was talking to? It was, but   
he didn't seem to be joking and he just looked at her, so Syl shrugged.  
  
"Okay, I guess."  
  
"Really?"  
  
Syl shrugged again. Silence.  
  
Then: "Listen, Syl, about Max and Logan…"  
  
"Oh, God!" Syl suddenly moaned and buried her face in her hands, surprising Krit. She   
looked up with a disgusted look on her face. "Am I *that* obvious?"  
  
Krit had to laugh. "You, obvious?" Syl smiled again. And this time it was Krit who   
shrugged, with one shoulder. "Nah… You are to me, though." They knew each other so   
well. Which is what made them such good friends. And such a bad idea as anything   
more than that.  
  
Syl sighed. "Pathetic, isn't it? I just… I just can't figure Maxie out, you know? This   
whole thing's not like her. At least, I thought it wasn't. And I'm…"  
  
"Worried about Logan?" Krit offered, nodding as if in agreement.  
  
Syl gave him a look out of the corner of her eye. "I'm worried about Max," she said.  
  
"And Logan," Krit insisted, nodding again, this time with exaggeration.  
  
Syl made a little sound of frustration and glared at him.   
  
"Why don't you just try and talk to her?" Krit asked then, to diffuse the situation. And   
out of general curiosity. Syl wasn't usually the type to keep quiet when she had a thought   
or opinion on something that she felt strongly about.   
  
'And apparently she feels strongly about Logan,' Krit thought, guiltily, as he   
acknowledged the other reason he felt inclined to encourage conversation between Max   
and Syl. He didn't want to be the one to tell Syl he'd known that Max and Logan weren't   
together and hadn't told her. She would kill him, he was certain of it. Especially since,   
looking back now, he really couldn't say why he hadn't told her.   
  
Except maybe to pick on her. And because he hadn't really thought she was seriously   
interested in the guy. Although, how Krit could have been mistaken Syl's interest for   
anything else was now a mystery to himself. He should have known she was really   
caught up on Logan. Krit didn't know a lot about Syl's lovelife or even if she had one –   
nor did he want to know – but he was pretty sure she didn't have a lot of relationships   
under her belt. No really important ones, anyhow. Yet in all the time that had passed   
since she'd found out about Max and Zack having feelings for one another, all she'd been   
able to think about was Logan. Krit could tell. That level of preoccupation – for Syl –   
had to denote some sort of importance in her feelings for the man.   
  
'You should have just told her, instead of messing around,' Krit thought to himself. And   
then: 'You should just tell her now, lamebrain. What are you…scared?' Well…yeah,   
and Krit shifted, uncomfortable where he sat. But there wasn't anything Krit took more   
offense to than being told that he was scared, of anything. Even if it was he himself   
doing the telling.  
  
"No…" Syl was saying. "I mean, she and Zack are happy…I mean *happy*. I've never   
seen Zack like that." Syl got quiet. Then asked: "Have you seen them together?"  
  
Krit nearly choked. Oh yeah, he'd seen them alright. Too much of them both. "Yeah,"   
is all he said. And he hadn't realized that he'd slipped into silence until Syl called him on   
it.   
  
"Are you okay?" she asked.  
  
"What? Oh. Oh, yeah." 'Come on, man, just do it.' "Actually… Syl, have you ever   
considered that maybe Max and Logan aren't really…I mean, weren't really…"  
  
"Weren't really what?" The voice that responded did not belong to Syl. Both she and   
Krit turned to see Max walking up behind them, smiling. "What are you guys talking   
about?"  
  
Krit looked at Syl, and the tight expression on her face. Then he looked at Max. Then he   
looked to the Heavens. 'Thank you,' he mouthed. And quickly got to his feet. Syl   
looked at him in surprise, but Krit wasn't looking back. He wasn't really fleeing, he   
insisted to himself…he was just taking advantage of a good thing. Namely, the chance at   
saving himself from some unnecessary, though nonetheless deserved, bodily harm.  
  
"You, actually," he told Max, slapping her on the shoulder. Max raised an eyebrow, but   
Krit didn't explain. He looked back to Syl's dropped jaw and smiled. "Why don't you   
girls take over from here."  
  
"Krit!" he heard Syl call behind him as he left, but didn't stop.  
  
Syl, meanwhile, looked from Krit's retreating form…to Max…and back. And back   
again.  
  
'Okay…so, now what?' Syl saw that Max was watching her, oddly, and Syl stood up.   
  
"Max, I…" Syl began, at the same time as Max was saying "Actually, I…"  
  
Syl tried to contain the sigh of relief that arose within her.  
  
"You first," she told Max, putting on a smile. That disappeared when she saw the serious   
expression on her troublesome, yet still beloved, little sister's face.  
  
"Max, what is it?" she asked, placing a hand on Max's shoulder, genuinely concerned.  
  
"Syl, I need a favor…I was hoping you could help me."  
  
"Of course," Syl replied instantly.  
  
It took Max everything she had not to smile. Everything was going exactly as   
planned…and she had Zane to thank for that, she knew. He'd helped show her that   
sometimes you have to let go of your fears and insecurities and take command of your   
own destiny.  
  
And sometimes – when you're just too stubborn to too blind to do that – someone,   
someone who really loves you (or a variety of someones) - has to take charge for you.  
  
Zane had been willing to do that for Max and Zack. And now Max was willing to do that   
for Syl. And for Logan.  
  
Max began, in the most somber tone she could manage:  
  
"It's about Logan…"   
  
  
  
The End.   
  
  
  
(for now ;) 


End file.
